Fighting Fire With Fire
by kaoslord1982
Summary: If Buffy never arrived in Sunnydale, who could keep it from degenerating into the nightmarish vampire free-for-all shown in "The Wish"? Here is one possible answer. The title makes it fairly obvious where I'm going with this. (Now posting weekly revisions.)
1. Prologue

**Fighting Fire with Fire**

**Prologue**

The shadowalker checked his preparations for the last time. He had the Orb, the Handbook, the Gems, and the Trump. He was wearing the enchanted gloves and mask. He had the bag. He had stakes and a kukri knife.

Everything had been tested and found to work.

He pulled up his hood and shouldered the bag. It was time to go.

Sunnydale, California. That place of bright sunlight and dark secrets was both his destination and starting point.

He focused his mind on his destination and began to walk.

He took a deep breath of the night air and looked up to see the sign of the magic shop, not yet the Magic Box that Giles owned.

There it was.

As he strode down the lamp lit streets he knew that when he turned the corner he would see Ethan's costume shop.

And so he did. He was tempted to stop in and give the man a broken jaw but regretfully recalled that he had more urgent business tonight. He walked on.

Finally he knew that if he looked off to the right, way back past the fence, he would see the Calax Research and Development facility. Shut down for over a year, CRD hadn't yet come to Moloch's attention.

He looked and there it was. Or rather, here he was.

He was disturbed by how near this Shadow was to his point of origin. He'd walked only a few blocks. That was all the distance between home and this place.

Sunnydale. It was their sophomore year in high school. The year Buffy came to town. At least that's what happened at home.

"Jesse, Xander, Willow," he said, his voice lowered and distorted by the magicks of his mask. Three floating balls of light appeared in his field of vision as the pre-cast tracking spell activated. Judging by the relative positions they were all in the same place. The nearest cemetery.

_What a surprise._

He started walking again, though with his focus on listening for movement this time. Sunnydale was rarely safe to walk around in at night. At least not for normal people.

Surprisingly, he made it to the cemetery without incident. As he neared the mausoleum his mask insisted was his goal, he saw them standing outside.

Not his targets. Vampires. Five of them, probably guarding the newbies while they turned.

"Hey, guys. Whatcha doin'?" the shadowalker asked brightly without breaking stride. His mask probobly made it sound more threatening than he intended, but he gave himself points for effort.

The disco dressed vamp in the lead flinched slightly at the unexpected sound, a fact that amused his fellows more than a little.

"Gettin' jumpy Thomas?" one of them asked mockingly.

Disco Tom gave the other vampire a dirty look then told the shadowalker to, "Keep walking, asshole."

He pointed out of the cemetery and shifted to his game face.

"Keep walking? Don't mind if I do," the shadowalker replied. He continued straight at the vamps.

"Alright, funny man..." one of the other vampires started to say. He didn't get a chance to finish the sentence because the shadowalker drew and staked him and Thomas simultaneously. The shadowalker reversed his grip on the stake in his left hand and dusted a third vampire with it before the others had recovered from their surprise.

"Normally I'd banter with you guys a little..."he explained while thrusting at a vampire with his right hand stake. The vamp blocked the stake and shifted further to the right. The shadowalker slammed a side kick into the vampire on his left that bounced her off the wall and stunned her momentarily. "...but I'm in a hurry tonight."

He feinted at the first vamp with his stake and slammed a low round kick into his right knee, shattering it. As the vampire screamed the shadowalker drove an identical kick into his left knee, breaking it as well. Feeling certain that would keep the male vampire out of mischief for a while, he turned back to the female.

She was just getting to her feet.

"Sorry." He swept her feet back out from under her and staked her with the same motion as he followed her to the ground. Then he returned his attention to the male.

Rising out of his crouch he went to where the male knelt shrieking and put him out of his misery. He re-sheathed his stakes to give himself a moment to gather his composure for what he was about to see.

He swung open the mausoleum doors.

His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Willow, Jesse, and Xander lying dead and drained on the floor. The blood here and there around their mouths testified that they had been Sired. He let his breath out slowly.

"Well, I guess I'm in the right place," he said quietly and he unslung the bag from his shoulder. From an upper pocket of the bag he extracted an Orb of Thesulah. He moved to kneel by the heads of the bodies, noting how oddly convenient it was that these three and only these three were here. He'd positioned himself were he could see the mausoleum door, and he started to draw his kukri as a shadow passed in front of it. He resheathed his knife as he recognized the shadow's owner.

"Ah, Liam. I've been meaning to speak with you. Give me a moment to finish up here." He tried to sound as casual and off-hand as possible. Given the look on Angel's face he had succeeded.

He touched the Orb to each of the kid's foreheads in turn. He then gripped the Orb with both hands.

"What are you doing?" Angel asked warily.

The shadowalker ignored him and began to chant. Translated, his chant meant something like: "Three vessels lay before me. Three souls driven out before their proper time. Three vessels usurped, their souls wronged. Let justice be done. May the usurpers be bound and the souls reclaim what is rightfully theirs. So mote it be!"

The Orb began to glow with increasing brightness as he chanted and with his last words it flashed with eye searing brilliance.

Concealing the sudden surge of weakness he felt, the shadowalker lay the Orb down on the stone floor. He put his hands together palm to palm; right above left, in a gesture intended to look ritualistic. He palmed a Gem of Amara with his right hand and laid it on Jesse's head. He covered it with his left hand and spoke the command, "Root."

He felt the enchanted gloves doing their thing as the Gem sank into Jesse's skull without leaving a mark. He performed the pseudo-ritualistic gesture and palmed the second Gem, repeating the procedure for Willow, and again for Xander. Then he sighed, thinking of the effort he had put into digging Gems of Amara out of three different Shadows. Finally that effort was going to start to pay off.

"What did you do?" Angel asked again, but the tremor in his voice indicated he at least suspected.

"Liam, you of all people shouldn't have to ask.

"They aren't quite like you of course. I returned their souls on the same night they were Sired. They don't have any vampire memories to torture them with misplaced guilt."

He watched Angel flinch before delivering his next shot.

"Of course they also don't have anyone to help them through the transition. I don't think their Sires would be very understanding about the whole 'have a conscience' issue. It's not a popular quirk among the undead.

"They're going to wake up confused. After all, before tonight they didn't know vampires existed, and now they're undead themselves. They could use someone to teach them the ropes." Despite his seeming casualness, the shadowalker was as focused on this monologue as he had been on the spell. The mask was hiding his face and disguising his voice, but he didn't want his speech patterns to give him away later.

"But where are my manners? I haven't introduced you. Kids this is Liam. I believe he goes by Angel now. Liam, this is Jesse,Willow, and Xander."

Angel seemed completely at a loss. "I...you did...you want...Are you nuts?'

"Maybe. That doesn't make what I've said any less true, and you are trying to be helpful these days aren't you? You're waiting for the Slayer to show up.

"She isn't going to. Not in time anyway. If anyone is going to stop the Harvest, it isn't going to be her." He let that sink in for a moment.

"Well it's been fun Liam. I need to get moving though. The way that vampire outside was carrying on before I staked him, we could have company any moment. If you decide you want to help out these kids, look them up at Sunnydale High, or talk to the school librarian, Mr. Rupert Giles. I plan to have a word with him as well. If things had been different, he would have been Buffy's Watcher."

The shadowalker repacked the Orb and began to undo the zippers that kept the bag at it's small backpack size. He unfolded it into something that could nearly hold a refrigerator. Or the bodies of three teenagers. Whichever.

"How can they still go to school? The sun..." Angel protested.

Given the number of large class room windows the average vampire would last for seconds during school hours.

_However..._

"I did a bit more than just give them thier souls back. That can be addressed later. I have things handled here. Buh-bye now," he said with pointed brightness.

Angel retreated in confusion.

The shadowalker loaded the bodies into the sack one on top of the other and zipped it up. It wasn't like they could feel anything yet. He contemplated the awkward bundle for a moment.

"This is going to be fun, in the sense of not remotely," he grumbled to himself before he bent to pick them up.

* * *

><p>He had to dust two more vampires on the way to the high school. This was the lead up to the Harvest so they were out in force. Juggling the bag and his kukri knife made the fight moderately interesting.<p>

He was an old hand at getting into the library late at night. The fact that Mr. Flutie was much less likely to be walking the halls than Synder was just made it easier. Would be. Would've been. English grammar didn't have a tense for alternate dimensional time travel. Not that he paid much attention to grammar in the past. Or the future. Whatever.

It was a relief to stop wrestling with that bag. Superhuman strength or no, it was just a pain to carry something that wieghed more than you and was so badly balanced.

He arranged the three teens by the office door so they won't be visible when you first entered the room. Then he unpacked and arranged the Orb, the Handbook, and his Trump on the center table. He opened the notebook and removed copy of the re-ensoulment spell.

A thought occurred to him and he opened the book cage to check for the spare crosses Giles kept there. There was a little mirror in there too.

_Excellent. _

He put a cross in each teenager's folded hand. He'd arranged them lying down in the classic funeral position. Not funny really, but he went with his whim.

He sat down at the table just as he had a thousand times before. It felt very strange to be back here. Almost as strange as it was to see these young people again. Time had made them nearly strangers.

He checked the clock. Five in the morning. He should have another couple hours before Giles showed up. Hopefully the kids wouldn't wake up until after that. He'd prefer that he not be the one to give them the speech. Dressed up as he was now he'd just freak them out if he tried. Besides, Giles just gave everything he said so much...authenticity? Authority? You tended to believe what he said anyhow.

The shadowalker sat and let his memories keep him company for a while.

He sat up straight as he heard the rhythm of familiar footsteps approaching. He stood up and scooted his chair back in. He should be standing for this. He let his hands rest naturally on the chair back as the library doors opened.

Giles entered the room distractedly, but came to a sudden halt as he took in the unexpected presence.

"Ah, as punctual as ever, Mr. Giles." The shadowalker picked up the mirror with seeming idleness. He half turned so he could look at Giles through it, simultaneously showing Giles his own reflection. "I must congratulate you on your collection. Both the literary and the more... esoteric works." He turned back and returned the mirror to the table.

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage sir?" Giles inquired with seeming mildness. His eyes were cautious as they swept over the table and the area behind the shadowalker.

He waved one hand dismissively. "Oh, I'm not here to talk about myself, Mr. Giles. I'm here to talk about the future of our three young friends here." He gestured at the three bodies.

Giles slowly stepped further into the room, until he could see what the shadowalker had pointed at. "Oh dear Lord," Giles exclaimed with heartfelt dismay.

"Yes they do seem to have suffered quite a mischief. I have given them some assistance however. If you please, I would ask that you read this before attempting anything in the ways of dismemberment or burning." The Shadowalker handed him the copy of the spell.

Giles accepted it with a hand that trembled only slightly. He read over the brief description of how vampirism works and the window of time where the soul still has a hold on the body. How during this period it is not only possible, but relatively easy to return the human soul to the body it had departed. And how after that period different and far more power intensive techniques would be required to achieve the same end. Then the necessary supplies, ritual, and the text of the spell.

"So simple," Giles whispered to himself. And then: "H-h-how can I be sure this is true? Where did you get this? How am I to believe this is even possible?" Giles demanded.

"Well that is the catch isn't it? I can prove these three are vampires easily enough. Proving the presence of a soul is a tricky business, however, as any atheist will tell you. I can inform you these are not the only vampires a soul. The other is even in town. Not my work, but a result of those other more power intensive techniques the paper alludes to.

"Check the Watcher diaries for references to a vampire called Angelus. He was quite a vicious specimen of his kind. About a hundred years ago he suddenly stopped killing. Your records will have no explanation for this, but it was at that time an angry Gypsy clan cursed him. They returned to him his soul. With that soul came the crushing guilt of decades upon decades of monstrous deeds. Of course, properly speaking, since the soul is the seat of self they were torturing a man for the crimes of a demon because he happened to be the original owner of the body the demon was using. Gypsies are more known for their grasp of the finer points of vengeance than for their grasp of the finer points of logic, I suppose."

Giles blinked at this barrage of information, made harder to follow by the low and distorted voice delivering it.

"To return to the topic: While I can't necessarily prove that these youngsters have souls, I can prove that they are demonstrably different from other vampires. You are familiar with the Gem of Amara? Yes I see by your incredulous expression that you are. Let me assure you it is quite real. It's power lies in it's ability to remove most vampiric vulnerabilities. I have reproduced the Gem's effects and applied the results." He gestured at the prone forms of the teenagers yet again."

_From a certain point of veiw that's even true. Albeit an Obi-wan kind of truth, rather than your free range true truth._

"The knowledge of my exact methodology is far too dangerous to leave written down, but I can demonstrate that these children are vampires and that they are immune to sunlight, holy objects, and cannot be killed with a stake through the heart. Once I demonstrate that, it is my hope that you will take my word for the fact that they have souls."

Giles gave out a chuckle that expressed very little amusement.

"Should you prove all that I may take you at your word indeed. If for the sake of argument I accept everything you've said as true I am still left with a number of questions. The first that comes to mind is" Why have you brought them here? What do you want from me? Followed closely by: 'How do you know all this?' 'Why them?' and 'Who the bloody hell are you?'"

The shadowalker smiled under his mask at the exasperation in the other man's voice. He didn't stay off balance for long.

"Well as it happens I spoke to that vampire I mentioned before (he goes by Angel now) last night as well. You and he have a surprising amount in common. You are both here hoping to assist the Slayer. You out of duty perhaps, and he out of a misplaced but understandably need for atonement. You will both be disappointed because she's not coming here." The hooded man let that stand for a moment.

"I don't know why she isn't. As a center of mystical convergence this is a nearly ideal location to station a Slayer. It is unacceptable that such a volatile place be left unattended and imperative that some significant force be stationed here."

_Other than the quite literally damned Mayor._

"The final thing you have in common with Angel is that I'd like you to teach these children."

Giles' face went momentarily blank with shock.

"Do I understand you correctly? You would like a Watcher to train vampires?" The masked head simply nodded in response.

"I see," Giles answered carefully. "And can you give me any reason why I should consider this?"

"Yes. The world as we know it will most likely come to an end before the week is through if you don't." The shadowalker waited politely as the Watcher groped his way to a chair and sat down.

"Ah," the Shadowalker said as he saw a stirring from the prone forms. "I believe our young friends are waking up. I'd prefer to explain that last part only once and I think they are going to have some questions of their own as well."

* * *

><p><strong>*Author's Note* <strong>_1/2/13_

* * *

><p><em>You thought that you'd heard the last of me, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU? Well you were wrong, see? I'm back, long after everyone has lost interest. Nothing will stop me! Not lack of talent! Not lack of ambition! Nothing!<em>

_Unless it does. Which would be lame._

_I will try to post a revised chapter once a week untill I catch up with them all. Then I will attempt to go to a posting schedule of twice a month. No promises. We'll see how it goes._


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Jesse's eyes snapped open. The memories of last night, the blood and pain, seemed unreal in the face of the warmly sunlit ceiling that was his first sight. He could smell the comforting aroma of wood polish and the musty scent of old books.

He was lying on his back, apparently on a hardwood floor. There was something in his hands. Without otherwise moving, he gripped it and held it where he could see it.

It was a wooden cross.

He let it lay back down on his chest.

His mind was racing. The panic he had felt upon waking was slowly overrun by confusion and wary tension. He had no idea where he was or how he got here. Trying to keep the motion slow, so as not to alert anyone who might be watching, he turned to his right.

Lying next to him was Willow and past her lay Xander. They likewise were holding crosses and starting to stir. When Jesse saw the stairs and bookcases beyond Xander he realized where he was.

This only added to his confusion.

Without intending to speak, he asked, "Why're we in the school library?"

"**B**e_c_au**s**_e_ _I_ **b**_rou_**gh**_t_ **y**o_u_ **h**e_re_."

Jesse jerked himself upright at the deep and distorted voice. He scrambled back against the wall and used it to push himself upright. From the sounds of wooden crosses clattering to the ground he knew Willow and Xander had done likewise. He didn't turn to look, his attention was all on what was in front of him.

Sitting at the library's central table was the new librarian and a masked man. The librarian, a blocky looking man in his fifties, looked like he'd just suffered a shock. The masked figure was harder to read.

He was a broad shouldered man of average height and dressed in tennis shoes, jeans, and a grey hooded sweatshirt. The mask was a blank grey oval with eyeholes as its only feature. Jesse couldn't really see his eyes, and with gloves he also wore, those were the only bit of himself the masked man left exposed.

_Kind of like Dr. Doom, if he was broke. Call him Slacker Doom._

"W-w-why did you bring us here? W-w-what's going on? W-w-w-w-who are you?"Willow quavered, getting progressively less coherent.

"**W**ha_t_ **d**_o_ **y**o_u_ **r**e_m_e**m**be_r_ **a**bou_t_ **l**as_t_ **n**igh_t_?" Slacker Doom asked.

_Creepy voice._

Jesse assumed the voice was artificially produced, but he had never heard anything like it in his life, and he'd listened to everything from barbershop quartets to death metal. It was as if a forty year old chain-smoking biker and a six year old girl were speaking almost in sync from inside a metal trash can in an echo chamber.

Jesse was so weirded out by his voice that it took a moment for him to notice what the man had actually asked.

"We went to the Bronze. This blond girl asked us if we wanted to go to a party with her and her friends," Xander answered.

"B-b-b-b-but there was no party. They took us out to the cemetery and... and...,"Willow trailed off.

"They bit us. They took turns. Then they made us drink their blood." Jesse finished in an unemotional tone.

He had always been a follower of the 'Don't get mad, get even,' philosophy. The scales had to be balanced. More than a few guys who'd pushed him or his friends around had later found their tires slashed or the insides of their jockstraps coated with Bengay.

But this was a whole different level of offense. Evening the score with blondy and her pals wasn't going to be a matter of pranks, no matter how nasty.

It was going to take blood, fear and pain.

Jesse stood in the warm sunlight and his thoughts felt colder and blacker than they had ever been before. He knew that he shouldn't be thinking what he was thinking. They should turn those freaks over to the police. They were too crazy and dangerous to screw around with. The stakes were life and death.

"That can't have been real! It-it can't! Their faces..."Willow blurted out, her own face twisted with distress.

_And yet..._

The librarian -Mr. Giles? - was looking at them with a strange mixture of sorrow, pity and fear on his face.

"**I'**_m_** s**_o_**r**r_y_** t**o** s**a_y_** t**h_at_** w**_a_**s re**_al_." Slacker Doom turned to the librarian and asked,"**M**_r_. **G**i**l**_es_ **y**o_u_ **w**ou**ld**_n't_ **h**a**pp**_en_ **t**_o_ **h**a_ve_ **a** **d**a**m**_p_ **cl**o_th_ **w**o**ul**_d_ **y**_ou_? **I** **b**_el_**i**e_ve_ **t**h_ey_ **m**i**g**_ht_ **li**_ke_ **t**o **cl**ea_n_ **th**e_m_**s**e**lv**_es_ **u**_p_ **a** **li**tt_le_."

"Yes, yes of course." Mr. Giles answered in a subdued fashion. He rose and walked toward the teenagers. They all flinched away slightly and then saw he was going into his office. He emerged a few moments later with a damp handkerchief, which he offered to Willow.

As Jesse and his friends looked at each other they noticed the blood on their mouths and throats for the first time. Willow's hand started shaking, so Xander took the cloth from her and wordlessly started cleaning up her face and neck.

"You still haven't said who you are and why you brought us here. Are you with them?" Jesse asked in a slightly belligerent tone.

He didn't think it was likely since the last place a blood drinking psycho would want to bring his living, protesting victims was a public building,_ But hey, psychos? Who knows what they'll do?_

Xander finished cleaning up Willow and himself. He handed the cloth to Jesse.

Jesse absently noticed a faint rhythmic sound a little like the bass of a passing car with the stereo turned up. It seemed to be stationary and nearby.

"**N**o, **I'**_m_ **n**o_t_ **w**ith **t**he_m_. **O**n_e_ **o**f **t**_h_e **t**hi**n**_gs_ **y**o_u_ **n**ee_d_ **t**o **un**der**st**a_nd_ **i**s **t**_h_at **t**he **p**e_op_l**e** **w**_ho_ **h**ur_t_ **y**o_u_ **l**as_t_ **n**ig_ht_ **we**re_n't_ **p**eo**p**_l_e. **Th**e_y_ **w**e_re_ **v**am**pi**r_es_. **T**he_y_ **di**_d_ **w**h_at_ **t**he_y_ **d**i_d_ **t**o **y**_ou_ **t**_o_ **m**a_ke_ **y**o_u_ **li**ke **t**he_m_. **B**ec**au**_se_ **o**f **w**h_at_ **I** **d**i_d_, **t**hey **di**d_n't_ **e**n_t_ir**e**ly **s**u**cc**e_ed_."

"What they did? What you did? What the hell are you talking about man?" Xander demanded.

_Biting people generally isn't a good way to make friends with them_, Jesse quipped to himself. He could see where the conversation was going, but was having trouble believing it.

Finished with the cleaning, he looked for somewhere to put the handkerchief. Mr. Giles took it away.

Jesse felt a little sick as he noted that some of the faint thumping seemed to be following Mr. Giles as he walked back into his office. There was another beat coming from the man in grey, but not from anywhere else in the room.

"**T**h_ey_ **dr**ain_ed_ **y**o_u_ **a**n_d_ **m**a_de_ **y**o_u_ **d**rin_k_ **th**e_ir_ **bl**oo_d_. **T**ha_t's_ **h**o_w_ **n**e_w_ **va**m**p**ir_es_ **a**re **m**a_de_. **T**h_e_ **t**er_m_ **t**h_ey_ **u**s_e_ i_s_ **S**ir_ed_. **W**h_at_ **I** _di_**d** **w**_as_ _a_ l**i**t_tle_ **m**o_re_ **c**o_m_**pl**ica**t**e_d_. **T**_he_ **s**im**pl**_est_ **w**a_y_ **I** **c**a_n_ **p**u_t_ **t**h_is_ **i**_s_: **T**h_an_**k**s **t**_o_ **th**e_m_, **y**o_u_ **a**r_e_ **n**_o_ **lo**n**g**e_r_ **_what_** **y**o_u_ **w**e_re_. **Th**an_ks_ **t**o **m**_e_ **y**o_u_ **a**r_e_ **s**ti_ll_ **_who_ y**o_u_ **w**e_re_." Slacker Doom paused.

Jesse wasn't sure he was following this. Slacker Doom seemed to pick up on his confusion and elaborated.

"**V**_am_**pi**r_es_ **a**r_e_ **s**o_u_**ll**e_ss_ **m**o_n_s**t**e_rs_. **Y**_ou_ **a**re_n't_. **Y**o_u_ **st**_ill_ **h**a_ve_ **y**our **s**ou_ls_. **B**u_t_ **y**ou **ar**e_n't_ **or**_di_**n**ar_y_ **k**ids **a**_ny_**m**or_e_." He regarded their disbelieving faces for a moment then gave an eerie sounding sigh and continued.

"**C**he_ck_ **y**ou_r_ **p**_u_**ls**e_s_. **T**he_n_ **h**a_ve_ **a** **l**o_ok_ **h**er_e_." He picked up something off the table and handed it to Jesse. With some trepidation Jesse put his cross on the table and took it.

It was a mirror. When Jesse held it he could see the counter behind him. He was confused for a second until he realized that the important thing wasn't what he was seeing. It was what he wasn't seeing.

Himself.

No matter how he turned it, the mirror showed his surroundings with perfect clarity, but never showed him. Willow might know better, but he couldn't think of a way to make a mirror that didn't show certain people. Not something that small anyway. If you could make a motion sensitive video screen and eighth of an inch think with some kind of camera relay and computer thingy to make it show some things but not others than vampires might as well be real. Given current technology one seemed as likely as the other.

Jesse handed the mirror to Willow. He checked the pulse of his left wrist and noted without surprise that there wasn't one. He checked again at his throat, just to be sure, and suddenly noticed that he wasn't breathing.

He deliberately took a breath. It was only a little shaky.

"So vampires are real and Vampires 'R Us. Is that what you're saying?" Jesse asked while Willow played with the mirror.

"**M**o_re_ **o**r **l**es_s_. **I** **b**e_li_**e**_ve_ **M**r. **G**ile_s_ **c**a_n_ **ex**pla_in_ **t**_h_i_s_ **p**a_rt_ **b**e_t_**t**e_r_ **a**n_d_ **m**o_r_e **s**u_c_**cin**c_tly_ **th**a_n_ _I_ **co**u_ld_. **W**ou_ld_ **y**o_u_ **b**_e_ **s**_o_ **k**in_d_?" Slacker Doom asked the silent librarian, who started slightly.

"Um. Yes. Quite. Very well. Ah, this world is older than any of you know. Contrary to popular mythology it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons demons walked the earth. They made it their home, their hell. But in time they lost their purchase on this reality. A way was made for mortal animals, for man. All the remains of the Old Ones are vestiges, certain magics, certain creatures."

"So vampires are demons? We're demons?" Xander asked.

Willow was starting to look a little hysterical as she played with the mirror. Jesse put his arm around her and Xander carefully took the mirror away.

"**N**_ot_** q**_ui_**t**_e_.** M**_r_.** G**_il_**e**_s_?" Slacker Doom prompted.

"The, ah, books tell us that the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another and another and so they walk the earth. Feeding. Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out and the Old Ones to return." Giles went silent and looked inquiringly at Slacker Doom.

"**T**_o_ **p**u_t_ **i**_t_ **an**_o_**th**_er_ **w**a_y_: **Or**_di_**na**_ry_ **va**_mp_**ir**_es_ **a**_re_ **co**_rp_**se**_s_ **an**_im_**at**_ed_ **b**_y_ **t**h_e_ **de**_m_**on**_ic_ **sp**_ir_**i**_t_ **wi**_t_**hi**_n_ **th**_em_. **Wh**_at_ **m**_a_**k**_es_ **y**o_u_ **dif**f_e_**re**_nt_ **i**_s_ **t**_h_**a**_t_ **wh**_i_**l**_e_ **y**o_u_ **w**_e_**r**_e_ **d**e_ad_, **b**u_t_ **b**_ef_**or**_e_ **y**o_ur_ **d**_e_**mo**_ns_ **h**a_d_ **aw**_ak_**en**_ed_, **I** **re**_stor_**ed** **y**o_ur_ **hu**_m_**a**_n_ **s**_o_**u**_ls_. Your bodies contain both **y**o_ur_ **or**_ig_**in**_al_ **so**_ul_ **a**n_d_ **t**_he_ **d**_e_**m**_o_**ni**_c_ **s**_ou_**l** **th**a_t_ **w**a_s_ **g**_oi_**n**_g_ **t**_o_ **su**_p_**pl**_ant_ **y**o_u_.

"**W**_h_**a**_t_ **y**o_u_ **a**_r_e **i**_s_** a** **v**_am_**pi**_re_. **W**h_o_ **y**o_u_ **a**_re_ **i**_s_ **u**_p_ **t**_o_ **y**o_u_."

"So we're good vampires?"Willow asked hopefully.

"**I** **d**_o_**n**_'t_ **b**_e_**li**e_ve_ _I_ **s**_aw_ **a**_ny_ **m**_e_**nti**_on_ **o**_f_ **yo**_u_ **b**_e_**in**_g_ **a** **s**_er_**ia**_l_ **ki**_ll_**e**_r_ **o**_n_ **y**_o_**u**_r_ **tr**_ans_**cr**i_pt_ **M**_s_. **Ro**_se_**nb**_erg_, **s**_o_ **y**e_s_. **I**_f_ **y**_ou_ **w**_e_**r**_e_ **g**_o_**o**_d_ **pe**_o_**p**_le_ **b**_efo_**r**_e_, **y**_ou_'**r**_e_ **g**_o_**od** **va**_mpi_**re**_s_ **no**_w_," Slacker Doom answered.

"Wait, you read my transcript!"Willow demanded. Jesse smiled to himself. She seemed more upset by that than by being killed.

"**I** **th**in_k_ **i**_t_'s **o**_n_**l**_y_ **re**_a_**so**_na_**b**_le_ **f**_or_ **m**_e_ **t**_o_ **kn**_ow_ **so**_me_**th**_ing_ **ab**_o_**ut** **t**h_e_ **p**_e_**op**_le_ **I**'_m_ **gi**_vi_**n**_g_ **su**_p_**e**_r_ **hu**_m_**a**_n_ **po**_w_**e**_rs_ **t**_o_. **I**_f_ **y**o_u_ **_were_** **s**_e_**r**_ial_ **k**_il_**l**e_rs_ **t**_he_ **ot**_h_**e**_r_ **t**_h_**i**_ng_ **I** **d**_id_ **f**o_r_ **y**_ou_ **w**_o_u**l**_d_ **ha**v_e_ **b**_e_**e**_n_ **a**_n_ **ex**_tre_**me**_ly_ **ba**_d_ **id**e_a_."

Jesse thought the guy sounded a little evasive with that first response but was brought up short by the second remark.

"Other thing? What 'other thing' are you talking about?" Jesse asked with narrowed eyes. It might have been just a poor bit of phrasing, but it almost sounded like Slacker Doom was claiming responsibility for their becoming vampires. And just because he wasn't a vampire himself didn't mean he couldn't be working with them. After all, he was some kind of witch.

This supernatural stuff was bothering Jesse. Not so much because he was in love with science, like Willow, as because he didn't know the rules. It's stone stupid to play a game for high stakes when you don't even know that much. Unfortunately neither he nor his friends seemed to have a choice.

"**W**e_ll_, **w**_h_**il**_e_ _I_ **w**_as_ **r**_e_**s**_to_**ri**_ng_ **y**_o_**u**_r_ **s**_o_**u**l_s_ **I** **a**l_so_ **re**_m_**ov**_ed_ **m**_o_**s**_t_ **o**_f_ **y**o_ur_ **va**_mp_**ir**_ic_ **we**_a_**kn**_es_**se**_s_. **S**_un_**li**g_ht_ **w**_o_**n**'_t_ **h**_u_**r**_t_ **y**o_u_, **b**_e_**i**_ng_ **s**_t_**a**_k_**ed** **th**_r_**ou**_gh_ **t**h_e_ **h**ea_rt_ **w**o_n't_ **k**i_ll_ **y**ou, **a**n_d_ **y**o_u_ **c**a_n_ **h**a**n**_dle_ **h**_o_**l**_y_ **o**_bj_**e**_c_**t**_s_. **A**_s_ **y**_ou_ **m**_ay_ **h**_a_**v**_e_ **n**_ot_**ice**_d_." He indicated the crosses laying on the table and floor with a tilt of his head. "**I'**_m_ **n**_ot_ **s**_u_**r**_e_ **ab**_o_**u**_t_ **d**_e_**ca**_pi_**ta**_tion_, **s**_o_ **y**o_u_ **sh**_o_**u**_ld_ **p**_r_**ob**_a_**b**_ly_ **av**_oid_ **h**_av_**i**_ng_ **y**_o_**u**_r_ **h**_e_**a**_ds_ **c**u_t_ **o**_ff_, **j**_u_**s**_t_ **i**_n_ **c**_a_**s**_e_."

"Whoa. Color me a tad suspicious, but why would you do all this for us? And I notice you still haven't said who you are and why you brought us here. Is Mr. Giles with you?" Xander asked suspiciously.

"**S**t_ay_ **s**_us_**pi**cio_us_. **D**ou_ble_ **c**he_ck_ **a**n_d_ **v**_er_**if**_y_ **ev**_ery_**th**_ing_ **i**_m_p**ort**_ant_ **t**h_at_ **an**_y_one **t**e_lls_ **y**ou. **I**t'_s_ **a** **h**a_bit_ **th**_a_**t**_'ll_ **k**e_ep_ **y**o_u_... **w**e_ll_, **n**o_t_ **a**_liv_e, **b**u_t_ **y**o_u_ **k**n_ow_ **w**h_at_ _I_ **m**e_an_."

Jesse had the impression that he was grinning behind that mask.

"**N**_o_, **M**_r_. **G**ile_s_ **d**_oe_**s**_n't_ **k**no_w_ **a**_ny_**th**in_g_ **m**or_e_ **ab**o_ut_ **m**_e_ **th**_an_ **y**o_u_ **d**_o_. **I** **br**_o_**u**_ght_ **y**o_u_ **h**er_e_ **b**ecaus_e_ _I_ **k**no_w_ **t**ha_t_ **h**_e_ **i**_s_ **p**ar_t_ **o**_f_ **a**_n_ **org**_an_i**za**_tion_ **c**_all_**ed** **t**h_e_ **W**_at_**ch**e_r_'**s C**_ou_**nc**_i__l_ **th**_an_ **m**_on_**it**_ors_ **t**he **s**u_per_**nat**u_ral_ **a**n_d_ **i**_s_ **t**_rad_**it**ionall_y_ **t**h_e_ **t**_ra_i**n**e_r_ **o**_f_ **o**n_e_ **w**h_o_ **f**ight_s_ **ag**ain_st_ **t**h_e_ **d**a_r_**k**_er_ **p**a_r_**t**_s_ **o**_f_ **i**t. **M**r. **G**_i_**l**_es_ **w**a_s_ **i**_n_ **f**a_ct_ **su**_ppos_**e**_d_ **t**_o_ **b**_e_ **t**h_e_ **o**n_e_ **t**o **tr**a_in_ **th**i_s_ **p**_er_**so**_n_ **b**u_t_ **f**o_r_ **s**_o_**m**_e_ **r**_ea_**s**_on_ **h**i_s_ **st**_u_**d**_ent_ **w**_ill_ **n**o_t_ **b**_e_ **c**_o_**m**_ing_ **h**e_re_. **A**_t_ **l**ea_st_ **n**o_t_ **i**_n_ **t**i_me_. _I_ **w**_o_u**l**_d_ **l**_i_**k**_e_ **h**im t_o_ **tr**_ain_ **y**o_u_ **t**_o_ **f**i_g_**h**_t_." He held up a hand to forestall any questions or comments, then resumed speaking.

"**N**o_w_ **w**_e_ **c**_o_**m**_e_ **t**_o_ **t**h_e_ **p**_a_**r**_t_ **M**_r._ **G**_i_**l**e_s_ **h**a_s_ **b**_e_**e**_n_ **s**_o_ **p**_a_**t**_i_e**n**tl_y_ **w**_a_i**t**in_g_ **f**o_r_. **W**h_y_ **sh**oul_d_ **h**_e_ **t**_r_a**i**_n_ **y**o_u_, **a**n_d_ **w**h_y_ **h**av_e_ **I** **g**_o_**n**_e_ **t**_o_ **a**l_l_ **t**hi_s_ **t**_r_ou**b**l_e_?

"**A**_b_**o**u_t_ **s**_i_**x**t_y_ **y**_e_a**r**_s_ **a**g_o_ **a** **v**_e_**r**_y_ **o**l_d_ **v**a_m_**p**i_re_ **k**_n_o**w**_n_ **a**_s_ **t**h_e_ **M**_a_**s**te_r_ **c**_a_**m**_e_ **h**_e_**r**_e_. **H**_e_ **k**ne_w_ **t**ha_t_ **t**_h_**i**_s_ **p**lac_e_ **w**a_s_ **a** **w**ea_k_ **p**_o_i**n**t **i**_n_ **t**h_e_ **d**_i_**m**_e_**n**_s_io**n**a_l_ **f**_a_**b**ri_c_. **T**h_e_ **M**a_s_**t**e_r's_ **i**_n_**t**e_n_**t**io_n_ **w**a_s_ **t**_o_ **t**ea_r_ **o**pe_n_ **t**hi_s_ **w**ea_k_ **s**po_t_ **a**n_d_ **l**e_t_ **t**h_e_ **O**l_d_ **O**ne_s_ **b**ac_k_ **i**_n_.

"**U**_n_**l**eas_h_ **h**e_ll_ **o**_n_ **e**a_r_**t**_h_ **b**a_s_i**c**al_ly_.

"**H**a**l**fw_ay_ **thr**ou_gh_ **h**i_s_ **att**e**m**_pt_ **th**e_re_ **w**a_s_ **a** **m**as**s**_ive_ **ea**rth**qu**a_ke_ **a**n_d_ **h**_e_ **w**a_s_ **b**uri_ed_. **H**_e_ **i**_s_ **s**tuc_k_ **b**et**w**_een_ **th**i_s_ **w**or_ld_ **a**n_d _**t**h_e_ **n**e**x**_t_; **m**ystica_lly_ **un**ab_le_ **t**_o_ **l**ea_ve_ **t**h_e_ **r**oo_m_ **h**_e_ **w**a_s_ **w**ork_ing_ **h**i_s_ **sp**e_ll_ **f**ro_m_.

"**O**_n_**c**_e_ **e**ve_ry_ **h**u_n_**dr**_ed_ **y**e**a**_rs_ **i**_t_ **i**_s_ **p**_o_**ss**ib_le_ **t**_o_ **p**_er_**f**or_m_ _a_ **r**i**t**u_al_ **c**_a_**ll**e_d_ **t**_he_ **H**_ar_**v**e_st_. **T**h_e_ **M**as_ter_ **c**a_n_ **b**in_d_ **a** **l**_e_**ss**_er_ **v**a_m_**p**i_re_ **t**_o_ **h**i_m_, **m**_a_**k**_ing_ **h**i_m_ **a** **V**es_sel_. **E**ve_ry_ **t**im_e_ **t**h_e_ **V**_e_**ss**_el_ **f**_ee_**d**_s_ **i**_t_ **i**_s_ **a**_s_ **i**_f_ **t**h_e_ **M**as_ter_ **f**e_d_. **A**_ll_ **t**h_e_ **p**ow_er_ **g**oe_s_ **t**_o_ **t**h_e_ **M**ast_er_ **a**n_d_ **w**h_en_ **t**h_e_ **V**_e_**ss**_el_ **h**a_s_ **f**e_d_ **en**_ou_**g**_h_ **t**_he_ **M**_a_**st**_er_ **w**_ill_ **h**av_e_ **t**h_e_ **st**_re_**n**_gth_ **t**_o_ **br**e_ak_ **f**r_ee_. **W**he_n_ **h**_e_ **g**o_es_ **fr**_ee_ **t**h_e_ **d**_oo_**r**_way_ **b**_e_**t**we_en_ **th**_is_ **r**ea_lm_ **a**n_d_ **t**h_e_ **ot**he_r_ **w**_ill_ **o**pe_n_. **T**h_e_ **w**o_rld_ **a**_s_ **w**_e_ **kn**o_w_ **i**_t_ **w**_ill_ **c**o_me_ **t**_o_ **a**_n_ **e**_nd_.

"**T**h_e_ **H**ar_v_es_t_ **i**_s_ **t**_wo_ **n**igh_ts_ **f**ro_m_ **n**o_w_. **I** **wou**_ld_ **l**ik_e_ **y**o_u_ **t**_o_ **k**ill **t**h_e_ **V**e**ss**el **a**nd **th**u_s_, **st**o_p_ **i**_t_. **Y**o_u_ **d**_o_ **t**h_at_ **a**n_d_ **I**'_d_ **s**a_y_ **we**'_re_ **c**_l_o**s**_e_ **t**_o_ **ev**e_n_."

Jesse, not to mention everyone else in the room, burst out with questions simultaneously. The masked man, who still hadn't said who he was, held up his hand for silence again.

"**T**_o_ **a**_n_**s**_w_e_r_ **y**ou_r_ **q**_u_e**st**i_o_**n**_s_: **Y**e_s_ **M**_r_. **G**_i_**l**e_s_, **I** **a**_m_ **q**_ui_**t**_e_ **s**_u_**r**_e_. **F**e_el_ **f**_r_**e**_e_ **t**_o_ **c**_h_e**c**_k_ **u**_p_ **o**_n_ **i**_t_ **y**o_u_**r**se**l**_f_, **h**_o_**w**_e_**v**e_r_. **M**_r_. **M**_c_**N**a_l_**l**_y_, **I** **w**_a_**n**_t_ **y**o_u_ **t**_o_ **d**_o_ **i**_t_ **b**_e_**c**_a_u**s**_e_ **y**o_u_'**r**_e_ **n**o_w_ **c**_a_**p**_a_**b**l_e_ **o**_f_ **i**_t_ **a**n_d_ **w**_e_'**r**_e **n**ot_ **e**_xa_**c**t_ly_ **t**_r_i**p**pin_g_ **o**ve_r_ **s**_u_i**t**_a_**b**l_e_ **c**_a_**n**_d_i**d**_a_**t**e_s_. **M**_r_. **H**_a_r**ri**_s_, **I** **t**_h_i**n**_k_ **y**o_u_ **m**i_g_**h**_t_ **w**_a_**n**_t_ **t**_o_ **d**_o_ **i**_t_ **b**_e_**c**_a_u**s**_e_ **s**_a_**v**_i_**n**_g_ **t**h_e_ **w**_o_**r**l_d_ **i**_s _**g**_e_**n**_e_**r**al_ly_ **c**_o_**n**_s_i**d**_e_**r**e_d_ **a** **g**oo_d_ **i**_d_**e**_a_. **A**_l_**s**_o_ **t**h_e_ **v**_a_**m**_p_i**r**e_s_ **t**_h_**a**_t_ **S**_i_**r**e_d_ **y**o_u_ **w**_e_**r**_e_ **s**_e_**r**_v_a**n**t_s_ **o**_f_ **t**h_e_ **M**a_s_**t**e_r_ **s**_o_ **s**_o_**m**_e_ **v**_e_**n**_g_ea**n**c_e_ **m**_i_**g**h_t_ **b**_e_ **i**_n_ **o**_r_**d**e_r_. **M**_s_. **R**_o_**s**e_n_**b**_e_**r**_g_, **I** **a**_m_ **i**_n_**d**ee_d_ **s**_e_**r**i_o_**u**_s_."

Jesse shook his head. "You keep not answering when we ask who you are. Why is that, masked man? Keep in mind, if you say you're the Lone Ranger I'll have to hit you."

Slacker Doom hesitantly answered, "**I** **d**o_n_'_t_ **w**_a_**n**_t_ **t**_o_ **l**i_e_ **t**_o_ **y**o_u_. **R**_a_**t**_h_**e**_r_ **t**_h_**a**_n_ **g**_i_**v**_i_**n**_g_ **y**o_u_ **a** **f**_a_**l**_se_ **n**_a_**m**_e_, **I**'_m_ **g**_i_**v**_i_**n**_g_ **y**o_u_ **n**_o_ **n**_a_**m**_e_. **T**_h_**a**t'_s_ **w**_hy_ **I**'_m_ **w**_e_**a**_r_**i**n_g_ **t**_h_**i**_s_ **m**_a_**s**_k_. **W**h_o_ **I** **a**_m_ **i**_s_ **n**o_t_ **a**_s_ **i**_m_**p**_o_**r**_t_**a**n_t_ **o**_r_ **e**_a_**r**t_h_ **s**_h_**a**_k_**i**n_g_ **a**_s_ **t**h_e_ **e**n_d_ **o**_f_ **t**h_e_ **w**_o_**r**l_d_, **b**u_t_ **i**_t_ **i**_s_ **o**n_e_ **m**_o_**r**_e_ **p**_i_**e**_ce_ **o**_f_ **w**_e_**i**_r_**d**_n_**e**_ss_ **i**_n_ **a**_n_ **a**_l_**r**_e_**a**d_y_ **b**_i_**z**_a_**rr**_e_ **s**_i_**t**_u_**at**i_on_. **I** **w**_a_**n**_t_ **t**_o_ **k**_e_**e**_p_ **t**_h_**i**_n_**g**_s_ **a**_s_ **s**_i_**m**_p_**l**_e_ **a**_s_ **p**_o_**s**_si_**b**l_e_ **f**o_r_ **y**o_u_. **A**_s_ **i**_t_ **i**_s_ **I** **f**_i_**g**_u_**r**_e_ **t**_h_**e**_r_e'_s_ **a** **f**_i_**f**_ty_-**f**_i_**ft**_y_ **c**_h_**a**_n_**c**_e_ **y**_o_**u**'_ll_ **d**_e_**c**_i_**d**_e_ **t**_h_**i**_s_ **i**_s_ **a**_ll_ **s**_o_**m**_e_ **k**_i_**n**_d_ **o**_f_ **h**_a_**ll**_u_**c**_i_**n**_a_**t**i_on_. **B**_ut_ **I** **p**_r_**o**_m_**i**_se_ **y**o_u_, **i**_f_ **w**_e_ **a**_ll_ **m**_a_**k**_e_ **i**_t_ **t**_o_ **t**h_e_ **e**_nd_ **o**_f_ **t**h_e_ **s**_c_**h**_o_**o**_l_ **y**_e_**a**_r_ **I**'_ll_ **t**_a_**k**_e_ **o**_ff_ **t**h_e_ **m**_a_**s**_k_ **a**n_d_ **i**_n_**t**_r_**o**_d_**u**_ce_ **m**_y_**s**_e_**l**_f_ **p**_r_**o**_p_e**r**_ly_. **F**_a_**i**_r_ **e**_n_**o**_u_**g**_h_?"

He seemed to take the momentary silence as a sign of agreement and picked up a black spiral notebook off the table.

"**R**_i_**gh**_t_. **T**_h_**er**_e_'r_e_ **s**_t_**i**_ll_ **a** **c**_o_**u**_p_**l**_e_ **o**_f_ **t**_h_**i**_n_**g**_s_ **I**'_d_ **l**_i_**k**_e_ **t**_o_ **t**e_ll_ **y**o_u_. **T**_h_**i**_s_ **H**_a_**n**_d_**b**o_ok_ **h**a_s_ _a_ **b**_u_**n**c_h_ **o**_f_ **t**_h_**i**_n_**g**_s_ **y**o_u_ **m**_i_**g**h_t_ **f**_i_**n**_d_ **u**_s_**e**_ful_ **i**_n_ **i**_t_. **P**_r_**o**_fi_**l**_es_ **o**_f_ **v**_a_**r**_i_**o**_us_ **p**_e_**o**_p_**l**_e_ **a**_nd_ **c**_r_**e**_a_**t**_u_**r**_es_ **y**_o_**u'**_re_ **l**_i_**k**_e_**l**_y_ **t**_o_ **r**u_n_ **i**_n_**t**_o_, **m**_a_**p**_s_, **s**_u_**gg**_e_**s**t_ed_ **t**_r_**a**_i_**n**_i_**n**_g_ **s**_c_**h**_e_**d**_u_**l**e_s_ **a**n_d_ **b**_a_**tt**_le_ **t**_a_**c**_ti_**c**_s._ **T**_h_**er**_e's_ **a**_l_**s**_o_ **a** **c**_o_**p**_y_ **o**_f_ **t**_he_ **s**_p_**e**_ll_ **I** **u**_s_**e**_d_ **t**_o_ **r**_e_-_e_**n**_s_**ou**_l_ **y**o_u_. **Y**o_u_ **m**_i_**g**_ht_ **b**_e_ **a**_b_**l**_e_ **t**_o_ **r**_e_**c**_r_**ui**_t_ **s**_o_**m**_e_ **b**_a_**c**_k_-**u**_p_ **w**_i_**t**_h_ **i**_t._ **T**_he_**r**e'_s_ **a**_l_**s**_o_ _a_ **p**_e_**r**_s_**on**_al_ **n**_o_**t**_e_ **f**o_r_ **e**a_ch_ **o**_f _**y**o_u_.

"**D**_o_**n**'_t_ **t**r_y_ **t**_o_ **t**_a_**k**_e_ **t**_he_ **H**_a_**n**_d_**b**o_ok_ **o**u_t_ **o**_f_ **t**h_e_ **l**_i_**b**_r_**ar**_y_. **I**_t_ **w**_i_**l**_l_..._**react**_...**i**_f_ **y**o_u_ **d**_o_. **S**_o_**m**_e_ **o**_f_ **t**_h_**a**_t_ **i**_n_**f**_o_**r**_m_**a**t**i**_on_ **i**_s_ **s**_e_**n**_si_**ti**_ve_ **a**n_d_ _I_ **w**o_u_**ld**n'_t_ **w**_a_**n**_t_ **i**_t_ **f**_a_**ll**i_ng_ **i**_n_**t**_o_ **t**h_e_ **wr**_o_**n**_g_ **h**_a_**n**_ds_.

**"I**t'_s_ **a**_b_**o**u_t_ **t**_i_**m**_e **f**or_ **c**_la_**s**_s_ **t**_o_ **b**_e_**g**_in_. **Y**o_u_ **m**_i_**g**_ht_ **w**_a_**n**_t_ **t**_o_ **m**_a_**i**_n_**t**_a_**i**_n_ **a**_n_ **a**_pp_**e**_a_**r**_a_**n**_ce_ **o**_f_ **n**_o_**r**_m_**a**l_cy_ **b**_y_ **g**_o_**i**_ng_. **I** **h**_a_**v**_e_ **t**_o_ **b**_e_ **l**_e_**a**_v_**i**_ng_ **a**_n_**y**_w_**a**_y_. **I**_f_ **y**o_u_ **l**_o_**o**_k_ **l**_i_**k**_e_ **y**_o_**u**'_re_ **a**_b_**o**_ut_ **t**_o_ **d**_ie_, **o**_r_ **t**_he_ **w**_o_**r**_ld_ **i**_s_ **e**_n_**d**_i_**n**_g_ **y**o_u_ **c**a_n_ **c**_o_**n**_t_**a**_ct_ **m**_e_ **w**_i_**t**_h_ **t**_h_**i**_s_."He indicated an envelope laying on the table next to a weird paper-weight looking rock.

**"D**_o_**n**'_t_ **u**_se_ **i**_t_ **u**_n_**l**e_ss_ **i**t'_s_ **a**_n_ **e**_m_**e**_r_**g**_e_**nc**_y_." He turned his head and requested,"**M**_r_. **G**_i_**l**_es_, **t**e_ll_ **t**_h_**e**_m_ **a**_b_**o**_ut_ **A**_n_**g**_el_ **i**_f_ **y**o_u_ **w**_o_**u**_ld_. **H**_e_ **m**_i_**g**_ht_ **s**_h_**o**_w_ **u**_p_ **h**_e_**r**_e_ **a**_n_**y**_w_**a**_y_. **H**e'_s_ **a**_l_**s**_o_ **i**_n_ **t**h_e_ **b**_o_**o**_k_."

With that the masked man stood up and drew a card like the one he'd left them from somewhere about his person. He looked at it for a moment and then turned into a rainbow-colored blur and vanished.

Xander sighed. "Well someone's gotta say it. Who _was_ that masked man?"

Jesse punched him in the shoulder.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Short chapters seem to be my thing. I'm lazy and it's easier for me to get motivated and retype them. Next chapter is gonna be as low on action as this one I'm afraid. <em>

_The idea in going two weeks between chapters was to give myself time to write, retype and polish things between postings. I also allowed myself a cushion of time. Unfortunately I seem to have used up much of my cushion watching _Claymore_, _Neon Genesis Evangelion_, and _Moonphase_ for the first time. Nevertheless I shall post on schedule. Hopefully without putting any characters in neko-mimi or indulging in massive layers of symbolism. _

* * *

><p><strong>Revision Note (17/13)**

* * *

><p><em>Ugh. The graphic representation of the voice distorter seemed like a better idea before I had to impliment it. That was a whole lot of effort for questionable gain. And I didn't put the distortion in the prologue because he's the viewpoint character and can't hear what he really sounds like. Or something.<em>


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Rupert Giles gathered his thoughts for a moment. The events of the last hour had left him rather shaken and the unusual departure of the masked figure did little to help that. He couldn't let himself become too lost in thought, however. There were still the… children… to keep in mind.

"So, who's Angel? We're not talking about an actual angel are we? It's just a name?" Ms. Rosenberg, the red haired girl, asked with the somehow innocently insatiable curiosity that had characterized his earlier encounters with her.

"Um, no. If our new a-a-acquaintance to to be believed, Angel is a vampire who like yourselves has a soul. Unlike you he regained his soul after living for over a century without one. The spell that restored him was in fact a curse designed to restore his conscience and leave him with the memory and guilt of committing monstrous crimes."

He could see the children blanch slightly as they considered this. It was a thought worth a little horror.

"Well that's really disturbing. Is that all the mask-guy said, or is there more to it than a 'you think you've got it bad' story?" The taller boy, Jesse McNally, asked.

Rupert cleared his throat. The boy's flippancy was irritating, but understandable given the situation.

"Yes, apparently this 'Angel' is in town and our anonymous friend spoke to him about being a mentor to you in...vampiric matters. He didn't seem certain that the vampire would agree. If he does, he will contact us here."

_And this is the first time I've ever _looked forward _to having a bloody vampire show up. _

"So, librarian guy. Do you buy what the Man in the Iron-looking Mask was telling us? He said you were up on the freaky stuff," the Harris boy inquired.

_If I do end up training this lot, etiquette it going to be high on the list,_ Rupert reflected.

"Well I certainly intend to verify it with my own sources before taking any action, but it is entirely possible the was being utterly truthful. Much of what he said matched conclusions I had already reached. I don't believe he can be safely dismissed."

"So what do you think we should do Mr. Giles?" asked the increasingly fragile looking girl.

"For the moment I think we should follow his suggestions. You should attend your classes as normally as possible and I will attempt to verify his information in the mean time. We can meet back here at lunch. I, ah, don't believe you'll be able to eat anyway."

"Man the biting and the blood drinking was bad enough. If they've taken Twinkies away from me too, I'll have to kill those suckers gruesomely," the Harris boy joked. He sounded almost serious.

The homeroom bell rang and the teenagers headed off to class, leaving Rupert alone at last.

He moved the crosses, notebook card, and Orb back into his office to prevent questions should any students enter the library.

As unlikely as recent experience made that seem.

It took only a few hours of research to confirm most of what the stranger had said. Many of the conclusions he'd drawn were conjectural, but Rupert Giles knew what his duty demanded of him.

He could still take steps to minimize future difficulties, however.

He picked up the telephone and rang the Watcher's Council Headquarters. It took half an hour before he could convince them of the seriousness of the matter and put him through to the current head of the Council, Quentin Travers.

With a number of incredulous interruptions form the other man, he was able to convey the morning's happenings.

"I must admit that since the death of Mr. Merrick, the Council has lost track of the current Slayer. Your... visitor is most likely correct. She will not arrive in time to prevent this Harvest, if she arrives at all." Travers took an audibly deep breath before continuing.

"Actually, this may work to our advantage. Train the young vampires, but tell them nothing of the Slayer. The day will doubtless come when they give into their demonic nature, and it's best they not know what to expect. Watch for any weakness they might have.

"Yes train them by all means. But remember: "Keep your friends close..."

"...and your enemies closer,'" Rupert finished. "I understand."

* * *

><p>Willow was sitting in class, but she might as well have been on the moon for all the attention she was paying it. Recent events had been so traumatic that they'd driven even thoughts of Xander out of her head. Mostly.<p>

She giggled a little hysterically and thought to herself, _I really did die a virgin._

She stopped giggling.

She gripped her right wrist with her left hand, her fingers over the pulse point.

It wasn't pulsing. Her skin was room temperature.

Everything kept leading her back to the same thought.

_I'm dead. _She'd been having that thought over and over. And over, and over, and over again.

_Vampires are real._ That thought was almost harder to take than the first.

_Vampires killed me._ That was right on the edge of what she could take.

_I'm a vampire. _It was too much. Her brain just wouldn't accept that thought.

She felt like her mind was on the edge of breaking. She stared blankly ahead. She thought she should be hyperventilating, but she wasn't.

_Of course not. I'm dead and dead girls don't breath. _Dimly, she heard the bell ring. _If I can't breath, then I can't hyperventilate._

Her feelings of mental strain turned up another notch. _If I can't breath, how can I talk?_ In that same distant way she heard someone talking to her. She kept staring ahead with her thoughts covering the same ground over and over again.

A hand touched her face and turned her head.

_How can there be vampires in a world that has Calculus?_

The hand cupped her cheek. She realized she was looking at a familiar face at close range.

_Xander._ Whatever else had changed he was still there. She focused on that. Clung to it.

_In a world where we're vampires, Xander and I can be together forever. So it's not all bad. _

She started to calm down.

_I'm not alone._

* * *

><p>"Willow. It's time to go back to the library. It's gonna be okay. You like the library," Xander said as soothingly as possible. He kept up a stream of calm words, trying to bring her back from wherever she'd drifted off to. He should have known this all would freak her out even more than it did Jesse or him. She as a really by the rules kind of girl and last night the rules had been tossed out the window.<p>

She liked understanding things, and the existence of magic and vampires went against everything she had believed was true. It was a whole new world, but he was sure that if he could get her over this hump she would be fine. She'd probably enjoy figuring out the new rules.

He watched as awareness slowly filtered back into her eyes.

"Xa-Xander? Oh, it's time for lunch isn't it?"

"Yeah, we're supposed to go to the library, remember? Jesse's probably already on his way."

They started walking without discussing Willow's near breakdown.

Xander was surprised by how he kept noticing smells. He could smell if someone smoked, or if they'd forgotten to wear deodorant. And if that faint coppery oder was what he thought it was, he could smell when a girl... Not particularly useful, but that was interesting.

What was disturbing was how he'd started feeling hungry when he passed those girls.

Willow looked like she was probably still too wrapped up in her inner turmoil to have noticed the smells. Or if the school was on fire. He would have to keep an eye on her, but hopefully what they found out in the library would help her find something else to focus on.

They met Jesse coming down the opposite end of the hall. They only had one class with him and all but one of their classes with each other. Jesse was a little scattered when it came to scholastics.

"Ah, there you are," said the librarian, looking up from a notebook. "I've confirmed, for the most part, what our mutual acquaintance told us. I've also received permission to aid you in whatever fashion I can."

Mr. Giles gestured for them to sit at the table with him.

"I've perused information he left us a bit. it is disturbingly specific and detailed. It lists a number of demonic rituals and rites that could prove deadly dangerous, of which the Harvest is only the most imminent threat.

"According to it the most likely candidate to be the Vessel is a vampire called Luke. Here's a picture," Mr. Giles showed them a sketch of a heavy featured and muscular vampire.

"I'm guessing that his last name isn't Skywalker," Xander quipped. If he resembled any Star Wars character it was a partially shaved Wookie.

"Yeah, does he live off the blood of 'Roid Rage types? Or maybe he just drinks steroids directly?" Jesse inquired.

Mr. Giles seemed to ignore their exchange.

_Does the man have no sense of humor? _

"The simplest way to avert the Harvest is to kill the Vessel, Luke, before he can feed. He is mentioned in the Council's records as an especially dangerous fighter, so it would be best not to engage him in close combat."

"I'm for that. I think arm wrestling vampire bodybuilders is against my religion. If it isn't, I can convert to one where it is," Xander interjected. Although he had to admit to himself he was feeling pretty strong. He'd accidentally crushed a pencil between his fingers and thumb during class earlier. Turned it into splinters.

He reminded himself that this Luke guy was even stronger than him, as well as having more back up, to fight down his rising sense of invincibility.

"What's our alternative? If we say 'Pretty please Mr. Vampire, don't slaughter people and bring the world to an end,' do you think he'd give up?" Willow asked doubtfully. The prospect of a fight did seem to have drawn her back out of herself.

"I, ah, would tend to think not. What I would suggest is ambushing the Vessel and using holy water to at least weaken him before going in to finish him off. If we can determine where he will emerge from, a few Molotov cocktails could settle the matter quite nicely."

Xander blinked at hearing such a brutal suggestion coming from the stuffy-looking older man. _He must be in his fifties! I guess you shouldn't judge the librarian by his cover either_, he thought wonderingly.

"So how do we find that out? Where he's coming from, I mean," Willow asked.

"If this Angel fellow makes contact I was rather hoping he could discover that for us."

"So we're waiting on him?" Jesse asked. "What'll we do if he doesn't show?"

"I'm afraid we'll have to play it by ear, so to speak. Are you all, ah, will you be, um, available for training after school? Will you be able to get permission from your parents?"

"Not a problem," Xander assured him somewhat bleakly. _It's not like our folks are even going to notice. As that narrator guy on the _Dukes of Hazard_ would say, "They've got problems of their own!"_

"Yes, very... good?" Mr. Giles offered diffidently.

He cleared his throat and then continued more firmly, "Ah, we were also left some personal messages. These are for you."

* * *

><p>"Liam," Angel repeated quietly to himself with a headshake.<p>

It'd been a long time since anyone called him that. A long time since he'd _been_ that man.

That human.

He was sitting in his apartment mulling things over while he waited out the sun. It was a concrete box of a place, spartan to say the least, but better than squatting in some crypt. It helped him think more like a human being than a feral animal.

_I sure am popular all of a sudden._

First they showed him that Slayer. Just a girl with no idea that her life as she'd known it was over. Her new life would revolve around horror, blood and tragedy.

He could relate.

He also couldn't help but think he was being jerked around.

He was a vampire with a soul. The first, last, and only one to ever exist. Unique.

Except maybe he wasn't. Not anymore, and they had no more idea than that Slayer what kind of crap the world could and would throw at them.

But he did.

First that girl, the Slayer, and now these kids. Was this a set up? Or maybe a bait and switch?

The so-called "balance" demon told him to wait for the Slayer here, and then the masked whatever-it-was told him she wouldn't be in time. Were the kids a distraction to keep him from finding out what happened to the girl? Were the demon and the mask on the same side? Opposite sides? Totally unrelated sides?

He couldn't answer those questions. Yet.

What he did know was that there were three new vampires in town. Maybe they had souls, maybe they didn't. The only way to find out was to go and see.

* * *

><p><strong>*Author's Note*<strong>

* * *

><p><em>That's enough exposition for a while. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of all the yak yak. Somebody kill something! Please!<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Revision 122/13**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Willow felt like she was sleepwalking through the rest of her classes.

Last period came around and for the first time in her life she was glade to be sharing a class with Cordelia. The other girl was such and attention hog Willow didn't have to worry about be called on while she was spacing out.

It was an oddly peaceful feeling completely different from the sense of being trapped in a nightmare she'd had earlier. Sure, all the old rules she'd learned were incomplete at best and dead wrong at worst, but that had always been the case.

Reality was what it was. Now that she knew the truth she could start learning the real rules.

After reading her letter from Mask Guy, or Slacker Doom as Jesse called him, she'd started feeling hopeful. There was more to the supernatural than horrors. There are also wonders.

Willow waited for the bell to ring with a smile on her face

She met up with the boys and Mr. Giles again after school. They sat around the library's central table talking the Harvest situation over.

They'd found super detailed maps of the cavern and sewer systems in and around town in the notebook Masked Guy left them. Except it wasn't really a notebook.

On the inside it was like an encyclopedia. The title page called it the Hellmouth Handbook. It had tons of entries, not just on demons, but also on people who lived in town. There were things in there she never would have guessed. Like, oh, Sunnydale had only ever had one Mayor, no matter what the official records say.

He was a major league warlock who'd founded the town as a feeding ground for monsters as part of a demonic pact. He was probably going to try to kill their whole class at graduation so he could finally become a giant immortal snake demon. That was still a couple of years away, but hey!

_Focus_.

So they knew where the Master's lair was. Since he had to be anointed in the flesh that meant they also knew where the Vessel would have to start from to carry out the Harvest.

The Harvest. An awfully neutral name foa a mystical massacre meant to bring about the end of the world. Shouldn't it at least have an adjective of some kind attached to it? The Dark Harvest, or the Red Harvest, or something like that?

Willow forced herself to focus again. There wasn't time to ramble.

Given the whole thirty-six hours or so they had, there was no way Mr. Giles was teaching them enough to beat vampires with the experience of the Master's Order of Aurelius in any kind of stand up fight. That was just crazy talk.

An ambush was their best chance.

Making things even less fun, the caverns around the lair were a total maze. There were dozens of places the Vessel could pop out from and at least a hundred routes he could take to reach them. If they knew where he was going they could narrow things down, but their information didn't cover that.

After they verbally ran around in circles for a while, Mr. Giles cleared his throat, bringing them back to order.

"L-lets think about this logically. Where could they take the greatest number of victims with the least amount of effort?"

Willow glanced from face to face, but the guys seemed to have been stumped. Nothing leaped to the front of her mind either, and just as she was about to admit it, someone else spoke up.

"That's easy. The Bronze. The younger someone is, the more power they have in their blood. It makes vampires kind of youth obsessed. And where's the best place in Sunnydale to find lots of young people after dark?"

Willow jumped to her feet at the sound of a male voice seeming to come out of nowhere. She wasn't dealing well with surprises lately. Possibly because most of the recent surprises had been bad.

She relaxed a little as he stepped out from between the rows of bookcases.

He was a dark haired dark clothed man with a broad and extremely handsome face. She got a strange cold feeling from him that told her he wasn't human.

He must've snuck in some back entrance almost as soon as the sun went down and listened to them from hiding till he felt like speaking up.

_And that's not creepy at all._

"Hi, I'm Angel. I got the impression you'd be expecting me," he said with an uncertain smile that froze her in her tracks.

"Ah, yes. We have a common acquaintance in a certain masked figure I believe?" Mr. Giles responded. Willow didn't think she was capable of speaking yet. She dropped mutely back into her chair.

She knew she as staring at the stranger but couldn't help herself. He was more than just cut, or handsome, he was... angelic.

_Okay, that name makes sense now._

"Yes. That's not the only thing we have in common I understand, Mr..." Angel trailed off questioningly.

"How rude of me. I am Rupert Giles. This is Ms. Willow Rosenberg, Mr. Jessie McNally, and Mr. Alexander Harris," Mr. Giles said. Willow found the formality a bit surreal but managed a smile and a wave.

"Call me Xander," Xander interjected.

Angel nodded to them before adding, "Actually, the guy in the mask introduced me to you guys last night. You were, you know, not awake for it," he clarified somewhat delicately. "He's got a weird sense of humor."

_That's one way to put it._

"Hold up!" Jessie insisted. "How'd you meet the guy? Any idea as to who or what he is?"

Angel shook his head. "He was covered head to foot and had some kind of voice distorter. He didn't have any scent at all, which I would have said was impossible. Mr. Giles here could be him for all I know."

Willow finally found her voice enough to point out, "We saw them both at the same time, so he probably isn't."

Angel smiled at her a little and said, "Good to know. Anyhow...

"I was going through the cemetery, keeping an eye on the Master's lackeys when I heard screaming. When I got there I smelled vampire dust and found the masked guy in a crypt with the three of you. It was pretty obvious you'd been Sired and he was doing some kind of magic on you.

"Anyway, he recognized me right off. Called me by name. Not the one I go by, but the one I was born with. Which isn't exactly a secret, but it's not common knowledge either. He told me what he was doing to you, told me the Slayer wasn't going to show up, and asked me to give you guys a hand instead." The vampire shook his head with a faintly incredulous expression.

Willow thought he looked even more adorable like that, and had to firmly bring her mind back to the task at hand.

Mr. Giles filled him in on their meeting, ending with the promise to unmask at the end of the year.

After some further discussion of the masked puppet master as Willow was starting to think of him, they got back to the main topic: Preventing the end of the world. Also known as the Harvest.

That is also when Jessie brought up his idea.

"I think we should wear some kind of disguises. We're probably going to leave some witnesses behind even if everything goes perfectly. We don't want to be recognized, you know, bring our work home with us. Take a hint from Slacker Doom," Jessie insisted.

"Who?" Angel asked.

"He means the masked guy," Xander explained.

Turning to Jesse,"Are you sure you're not just trying to live out a superhero fantasy here?" Xander asked skeptically. "This is gonna be hard enough without adding costumes on top of everything else."

Jessie waved that off dismissively. "Look, we're planning to jump these guys anyway right? We're outnumbered and outclassed, so we need the element of surprise or we're gonna get stomped. Even if we manage to take out this Luke guy, we're bound to lose a few of the others. And that's if we dont get taken out ourselves.

"So lets say we take out Luke and get away with our skin. The Big Boss will still be alive and pissed. Do we really want him to know what we look like when he sends his boys and girls out to express his appreciation?"

Willow shivered a little at the thought. What they'd been through last night, terrible as it was, was fairly brisk and impersonal. She didn't want to imagine what those monsters might do if they were angry.

"Good point, but if we're trying for anonymity then I can't go with you to ambush Luke. Darla will probably be with him and she'll recognize me no mater how I'm dressed," Angel told him.

"Who's Darla?" Xander asked.

"My Sire," Angel answered in a tone that invited no discussion of the matter.

Willow concluded that they'd been involved in something other than a parent/child relationship, or whatever you call the vampire equivalent.

_Sire/siree?_

Blood sucking demons probably didn't sweat incest, if that was a term that applied. In the horror of the moment Willow hadn't even been aware of drinking her Sire's blood. She couldn't pick him or her out of a line up, and if she could she certainly wouldn't look at whoever it was as a parent.

_But if Angel's Sire is with the Master, does that mean Angel had been part of the Order of Aurelius too? _She couldn't bring herself to ask.

"Actually, that could work quite well," Mr. Giles said after an awkward moment of silence. "We should have someone on site at the Bronze in case the Vessel eludes us. We can co-ordinate by radio."

After that they got down to the details and eventually the subject of what weapons they should bring came up.

"As few as possible," Angel said firmly.

Jesse looked like he was going to blow as he demanded,"What the hell do you mean? You want us to fight them bare handed?"

"A weapon you don't know how to use belongs to your enemy. Better not give him something else to hurt you with. Besides, people look at you funny when you carry around swords and axes and they aren't the easiest things to conceal."

"Who said anything about that medieval crap?" Jesse asked. "I was thinking about guns."

Angel shook his head. "That's even worse.

"Okay, let's say that you know what you're doing with them. First off, you can't kill a vampire with a gun. At least not reliably, not with most guns. You can only piss us off, and at best, slow us down with bullet wounds.

"Secondly, vampires and demons don't use modern weapons. They stick to claws and fangs mostly. We don't want them getting creative on us. If they see us using guns some of them will follow suit. Do you really want to burst into a lair and run head first into a Claymore mine? I know I don't.

"Third and last, even though the cops don't do anything about vampire killings, they're all over the place when they hear gunshots."

That more or less settled the issue.

Angel and Mr. Giles decided that they should carry a few Molotov cocktails since they would be used too quickly to be turned against the, and holy water, stakes and crossbows sins the were supposedly immune to them.

Willow had no interest in testing herself for immunity to sharp pointys through the heart. That could remain an eternal mystery as far as she was concerned.

The next two days seemed to fly past with school and battle preparations.

* * *

><p>Jessie lit the rag and then hurled the bottle with a powerful sidearm motion. It made two revolutions through the air before it struck the stone of the crypt and shattered. He was momentarily entranced by the way the liquid splashed outward, filling the doorway with flame.<p>

A second later Xander's bottle smashed into a headstone, spreading more flame before the crypt. Their intention had been to catch the emerging Order of Aurelius between the two improvised fire bombs and settle maters then and there.

The largest of them, Luke (not a Skywalker) was struck along one arm with the burning liquor. He dove forward and shed his coat while rolling to his feet in a completely disheartening display of speed and agility.

The blonde female, their old friend and all around party girl, managed to leap clear completely unscathed. The other four weren't so lucky.

The one actually in the doorway as the Molotov cocktail struck was completely engulfed by flame and dusted almost immediately. The two slightly farther ahead were splashed all along their backs and managed to run a few steps before succumbing. the one closest to Luke had taken the brunt of Xander's bottle, but was able to strip off his clothing and roll out the flames before he could be consumed. He was still badly burned judging by his screams.

Jessie glanced down through the doorway the vampires had emerged from. He could dimly make out the forms of other vampires through the flames so he hurled his other bottle at the doorway itself, letting the pre-existing fire ignite it.

_That should keep them out of the way until this is over_, he thought to himself. Turning, he scooped up his crossbow and targeted the Vessel.

_That could be his nickname, 'cause he's the size of a ship. Oh, well. Makes him an easier target._

Watching the huge vampire charge straight at him, Jessie was glad he didn't have to breath. As scared as he was he'd have been panting so hard he'd be lucky to hit the ground with his shot.

Whatever that Angel guy might think, Jesse did know how to use a gun and his skills had translated fairly well to the crossbow. He aimed carefully and squeezed the trigger.

Without breaking stride Luke snatched the crossbow bolt out of the air, right before it would have plunged through his heart.

_This is gonna suck._

The Vessel struck away his crossbow and backhanded the teenager with one smooth motion. Gazing up at the burly vamp with his head ringing he concluded, _Yep, that sucked_.

"On any other night I would make you beg me for death. As this is a special occasion, I'll merely return this to you." With no further taunting the triangle marked vampire stabbed the crossbow bolt through Jessie's heart.

It didn't hurt exactly. It was more a sensation of strong pressure. Like being poked with a baseball bat. His response was about the same as well.

Luke seemed momentarily shocked by his failure to dissolve into dust. In that moment Jessie shoved a vial of holy water into the older vampire's slack mouth. With his other hand he drove a weak uppercut into the monster's jaw. With his new vampire strength the awkward blow had enough force to shatter the glass and flood the fanged mouth with something quite a bit less enjoyable to it than blood.

He scrambled away and to his feet without taking his eyes off his shrieking elder.

_Wow_, he thought as he watched the smoke roll from the Vessel's face and neck, _I had no idea a guy that big could hit a note that high_.

Jessie grimaced as he pulled the bolt from his chest.

He wrenched his gaze around as he head gunshots crack the air of the cemetery. The noise was excruciatingly loud, much worse than his memories of target shooting without ear protection.

The blonde who had lured them to their human deaths was firing twin pistols directly into a black-clad form.

_Xander!_

Jessie's crossbow had been crushed so he drew a stake from his belt and ran at the all too literal femme fatal. Before he'd covered half the distance a crossbow bolt snapped through the place she'd just been standing. She managed to dodge and fired back at Willow, who was taking cover behind a headstone. The hyperaware vampire dogged again and took Giles's bolt through her shoulder rather than her heart.

That seemed to be enough for her however, and she took off running after firing a parting shot at the librarian.

Jessie quickly concluded he wasn't going to catch the gun fighting vamp as he saw her weaving through the headstones like a cheetah in high heels. he broke off his pursuit and, deliberately focusing on the immediate priority, turned back to Luke.

Or rather to where he'd left Luke.

The big vampire was gone and he hadn't left any dust behind.

_So, not dead. Or still undead, rather than really dead. _

_Which is what I'll be if he ever finds me. Crap._

"Xander! Ohmigod, ohmigod, Xander!" Willow screamed as she rushed to the prone form of their friend.

Amazingly, he was getting back on his feet.

"Being shot is even less fun than it looks, but I'm okay," Xander reassured her. Jessie, standing behind him saw the massive and ugly exit wounds closing up.

"You are not okay on an epic scale buddy. She put more holes in you than one of those spaghetti draining things," he said with a lightness he didn't feel. It was so unreal it was almost funny. If they weren't super-freaky monster people now, then Xander and he would both be dead.

"A colander?" Xander suggested after a moment's thought.

"Yeah, one of those. Colander Harris can be your new nickname," Jessie told him.

They looked up as they heard sirens off in the distance. Rapidly approaching sirens.

"Anyone else think it's time we were leaving?" Jessie asked.

"I must concur," Mr. Giles agreed, looking bizarre with his ski mask on over his glasses. He took out the walkie-talkie, gave a double chirp, and turned it off. "Let's head back to the library, shall we?"

* * *

><p>Willow kept glancing worriedly at Xander. He was walking all right now, but remembering how he'd been shot still frightened her.<p>

"I'm okay, Wil," he reassured her. "Super-vampire healing kicked in, so I'm not hurt anymore. It wasn't fun but it's nothing to worry about now." He gave her a brief one armed hug.

They'd circled to the opposite side of the cemetery form Jesse and Mr. Giles before they unmasked and headed out. It took a while to walk back to the scholl, but they'd decided an apparent couple walking together would attract less notice than any other combination of the group.

Or at least that's how she'd explained why she was hanging onto his arm. It was a little bolder move than she was used to making, even with the justification. But she had felt different in lots of ways since she was Sired.

They finally arrived at the school and slipped in the side door Mr. Giles had shown them, making their way to the library without event. She reluctantly released him before the went inside.

"How'd it go?" an unnaturally handsome dark-haired man asked as they came through the door.

_She sure named him right,_ Willow thought dreamily to herself. Then she shook it off. She wasn't fickle. She wasn't going to give up on Xander for the first pretty face to walk by. But whatever else you could say about that Darla, Willow couldn't fault her taste in men.

"Not to great Gramps. That Vessel guy isn't gonna be drinking any blood tonight, but he's still around. Oh, and blondy got away too after putting on a wild west show. I'd have been more entertained if she wasn't using me for the target," Xander said while fingering one of the bullet holes in his shirt.

"I'm pretty sure we aren't related. And I do have a name, kid."

"So do I Gramps. But if you think I'm calling another dude 'Angel' you can think again. Besides, it'd be disrespectful to call a geezer like you by his name."

Angel shook his head, obviously fighting down a smile as he said, "I'll teach you to respect my years at sword practice, kid. See if time has slown me down."

Willow was surprised by how quickly the other vampire seemed to have warmed up to them. He'd been pretty standoffish when they first met. Literally standoffish. He hadn't come within ten feet of any of them that first night.

The day before yesterday. It seemed like weeks ago.

Willow blinked, returning her wandering mind to the present as Jessie and Mr. Giles came through the library doors.

* * *

><p><strong>*Author's Note*<strong>

* * *

><p><em>I'll admit that this chapter is pretty clunky. I could really, really use a beta reader. Also I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I usually post on Tuesday but I had to go to the DMV, so that didn't happen. I don't excuse my offense I merely attempt to explain it.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Revision (128/13)**

_This is the most extensive revision so far. It's still not what I would call perfect, but it's a lot less clunky now. What do you think? _


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ms. Rosenberg blocked the kick on her left side by interposing her staff vertically. She then countered with a blow aimed at her opponent's head. He swayed his body back, causing it to miss him, but in the process compromised his balance so that when she switched her attack to a leg sweep on his other side he wasn't able to avoid it.

He tumbled to the floor, slapping it to break his fall and vault himself back to his feet, but her staff struck him over the heart almost as soon as he struck the floor.

"Well done, Ms. Rosenberg. Mr. McNally, you'd have been better off to simply continue your evasion into a back flip rather than attempting to shift your balance forward again and then jump." Rupert checked the time before announcing, "Very well, that will be enough for this morning. You lot had best start getting ready for class."

The children had shown remarkable progress in their combat training. They had reached in only a week a level it took young Watcher trainees months to achieve.

Which was of course, far less than what even a totally untrained Slayer was capable of. Still it isn't fair to compare anyone, or -thing, else to a Slayer in terms of learning martial arts. Due to the mystical linkage with their predecessors they don't so much learn the fighting arts as recollect them. To use Socratic terminology in a decidedly literal sense.

He had discussed the matter with Angel, who out of his own experience, told him that such rapid initial progress wasn't unusual for vampires.

One of the more time consuming parts of learning the martial arts is reaching the level of physical conditioning necessary to correctly execute the techniques. Vampires don't need this conditioning since they inherently possess superhuman physical abilities. Thus, they can skip straight to learning the moves.

Angel assured him that this advantage quickly wore thin when it came to moving past the basics. The problem for most vampires was that truly mastering a martial art takes diligent practice. As demonic predators, vampires tend not to have the the self-discipline for that sort of thing, as they find murdering people in inventive ways a more emotionally rewarding pursuit.

"Joy, oh joy," McNally complained good naturedly, "School hasn't even started and I've already gotten beat up."

Rosenberg offered him a hand up with a smile, pointing out, "At least I'm not gonna steal your lunch money too."

"That'd be more impressive, morally speaking, if we weren't already on the enforced liquid diet," Harris commented from where he'd been watching.

"Hey mister, we can too eat! Mine is a purely moral stand, untainted by..."Rosenberg protested mock -indignantly.

"Reality?" McNally interjected. "Yeah we can eat, but it doesn't do us any good. We can't digest it and nothing tastes right anymore. Besides, if we don't eat we don't have to go to the bathroom. And considering what it's like going to the toilet with a gut full of undigested food..."

"As fascinating as this discussion is, might I suggest changing the topic?" Rupert interrupted. Teenaged boys seemed all too keen to dwell on the crudest of physical functions.

"I've been studying this notebook our mutual acquaintance left us. I must say it is absolutely fascinating. The more I read, the more impressed and- and frightened I become. It doesn't just list current threats, it lists future ones."

Flipping through the pages he found an interesting example. "For instance, in a month it reports a high likelihood of a shape shifting insectile demon murdering Dr. Gregory to create an opening for itself as a substitute teacher."

"Why? Is it that desperate for work?" McNally asked a touch incredulously.

"No, apparently for breeding purposes it needs virgin boys and as a substitute teacher it's in an excellent position to encounter them." After a moments thought he was struck by a realization. "Good lord, an old Oxford chum of mine, Dr. Ferris Carlyle encountered this creature before. No one credited his report because he'd gone entirely mad."

Rupert reflected that they should have known better than to completely dismiss his claims. When dealing with the supernatural, just because someone was mad as a hatter didn't mean they didn't know their business. All too often it meant just the opposite.

The boys exchanged whispered arguments at that point, he could guess the topic. Ms. Rosenberg silenced them with a quelling glance before saying, "We'll keep that in mind. Is there anything more urgent?"

Rupert flipped back through the pages.

"There are two items of immediate concern. The first is that some weeks ago a student became permanently invisible. She did not seek this- this state and the isolation of it is rendering her increasingly unstable."

"How could we not know this kind of stuff was happening?" Harris asked somewhat rhetorically.

"By definition it's pretty hard to notice an invisible girl," McNally pointed out.

Ms. Rosenberg waved the banter aside asking, "Do we know how to make her uninvisible? Or, I guess that would be just plain old visible. Any word on that?"

"I'm afraid not," Rupert admitted.

"But while the invisibility isn't something we can correct at the moment, the isolation is another matter." he stated.

"Huh?" Harris asked, cocking his head in a gesture annoyingly like that bloody dog in the adverts. Ms. Rosenberg was quick to explain.

"We can keep her company. Let her know she's not alone." Turning back to Rupert she asked, "What's her name?"

"Ah, Marcie Ross. Apparently you had classes with her," Rupert mentioned suggestively.

The teenagers exchange blank looks before Harris admitted, "I don't remember her."

"Yes, I gather that's rather the problem," Rupert said drily. "Everyone around her perceived her to be invisible, and under the supernatural influence of the the Hellmouth this perception became objective fact."

Ms. Rosenberg seemed fascinated by the thought as well as sympathetically horrified by it. Mr. McNally simply seemed taken aback, finally responding, "Oh. Okay then. What else is on the agenda?"

"Apparently a Mrs. Catharine Madison has stolen her daughter's body with the intention of reliving her glory days as a high school cheerleader."

_The woman must be mad_, Rupert thought to himself. _You couldn't pay me to be a bloody adolescent again._

"Catherine Madison? You mean Amy's mom? Ohmigod, Amy's mom stole her body?" Ms. Rosenberg burst out in shocked dismay. "Is she gonna be okay? What're we gonna do?"

Rupert blinked in startlement for a moment. "Well I imagine she is quite upset, but otherwise unharmed. If we can find Mrs. Madison's book of spells it should be possible to reverse what she's done. However, that is only a stop gap solution I'm afraid. The notebook indicates that she is quite an accomplished witch and capable of some extremely unpleasant things. Taking her spell book will reduce her options a bit, but when all is said and done the book is only a tool."

Rupert could see the children were sobered by the thought. It wasn't nearly as straight forward as confronting something unambiguously, demonically evil as vampires. It was perhaps something of a pity that they were being tested like this so soon, but it might prove valuable in the long run.

"It's not the same as staking a vampire is it? Mrs. Madison is probably a bad person, maybe even evil, but she is a person. Not a demon." Harris said uneasily.

"We can't just kill Amy's mom! I mean, sure she's done something bad, but it's not like she's killing people. Anyway, do we have the right to judge? We are, sort of, demons. Not really in a good place to throw stones," Ms. Rosenberg said plaintively.

"I know what you mean, but it's not like we can report her to Child Protective Services or turn her over to the cops or something. If we don't do something about her who will?" McNally asked, looking from face to face.

_Well done. That covers the pertinent questions rather nicely,_ Rupert thought to himself. Thus making it time for him to step in.

"This is a rather difficult issue. I think our first move must be to make absolutely sure our information is correct. If we can get a sample of the young Ms. Madison's hair there is a rather simple test that will determine if she is a witch. We might also speak to the apparently elder Mrs. Madison while the other is occupied," Rupert said.

_If it becomes necessary to directly confront her, most likely it will quickly become a matter of self preservation rather than execution_, Rupert thought to himself. One far gone into dark magicks tended to respond to contradiction with disproportionate severity.

"Cheerleading tryouts would be a good time for that little talk," McNally pointed out helpfully.

"Indeed. Ms. Rosenberg, perhaps you should be the one to speak with her since you are acquainted," Rupert suggested. She would be in the best position to tell if mother and daughter had truly exchanged bodies.

It wasn't that Rupert doubted the notebook's information on this point, since everything he or Angel had been able to check had proven accurate. It was simply good policy to verify all received information before acting on it if time and circumstances allowed.

"I could do that," Harris interjected. "I know them almost as well as Wil does, and if we're gonna talk to that Marcie girl too, then she should go to make sure Jessie doesn't say anything dumb."

Rupert had the distinct impression that the boy was trying to keep the young lady as far from this witch as possible, and simply offering a justification. He was curious if it was out of a general desire to protect her from danger, or something more specific. The boy hadn't seemed especially worried for her when they'd patrolled for vampires the other night. Was magic simply a more worrisome threat in his mind?

Little wonder if it was. Still the other youngsters made no move to contradict him and his stated argument was likely valid enough. Another young lady would be a good choice to make contact with the likely distraught Ms. Ross.

"Very well. If one of you can get a sample of hair by then we can perform the test at lunch. And after school Mr. Harris and I will visit the Madison residence. Mr. McNally and Ms. Rosenberg will deal with our invisible girl. It is suggested here that she has a kind of den in the ceiling of the music room."

The children straightened up under the briskness of his tone.

"Not a problem. I can probably make it look like a clumsy pass at her when I snag the hair. Nobody would find that hard to believe coming from me," McNally suggested in a wryly self-deprecating fashion.

"True," Harris said with heartless cheer. "Way to make your disadvantages work for you man. This almost makes up for you getting beat up by a girl a few minutes ago."

McNally shoved Harris's shoulder with exaggerated aggression.

Rupert sighed his exasperation. Fortunately the school bell rang before their playful scuffle could get out of hand.

* * *

><p><strong>*Author's Note*<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Sorry if this seems a little short even by my standards. From this point on, we'll finally be into the meat of the story. I'm hoping I can do my plot outline some kind of justice. This is also where my plans for the story get to be a little fluid. Don't ask me how they're going to deal with Mrs. Madison because I'm not altogether sure. I've got a few ideas, but...<em>


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: That Could Have Gone Better**

Willow had always thought that Amy's mom was more than a little crazy, but she never thought she was capable of something like that. In either sense. She'd heard of having your childhood stolen, but come on…

Jesse had managed to get the hair with a minimum of suspicion. At least they hoped so, because the test proved that Amy really was a witch. Or that her body was possessed by one, as the case may be.

That actually reminded her of something. She'd read a book about a mother that stole her daughter's bodies, but in the story, the mother had been doing it for hundreds of years. She'd use her new body to have a new daughter and then switch with her when she grew up. Then she'd rinse and repeat.

The body snatcher in the story had been a sorceress rather than a witch (which had been an important distinction in the story) but it was kind of a coincidence. She never would have taken it seriously before, but that book could have been a biography disguised as fiction for all she knew now.

It was a freaky thought, raising a kid, bandaging her scraped knees, drying her tears, when all along you were planning to use her like a new set of cloths when she got old enough. And not just once, but over and over again. What kind of person would you have to be to do something like that? What kind of monster would doing that turn you into?

Willow shivered at the thought, drawing a questioning glance from Jesse. She waved him off, shaking her head to signal nothing was wrong as the continued moving down the mostly silent school hallways.

It was probably just a story. What Mrs. Madison had actually done was bad enough. And anyway, that was Xander and Mr. Giles' problem right now. She should be concentrating on helping Jesse find the invisible girl.

They'd checked the ceiling above the band room first, like the notebook had suggested, but all they found was some blankets. Willow didn't think the girl had been sleeping up there for very long judging by how little of her scent was on them.

As long as the girl was still in the school, they were bound to find her eventually. She couldn't be seen, but she wasn't inaudible, and Willow had paid attention when she sniffed the blankets. She was sure she'd recognize the smell if she came across it again. Which was a pretty freaky thing to be sure of.

Angel had been teaching them how to use their vampiric senses, but it still seemed weird to be able to do things like that.

They'd have been better off if Xander had been on the search team since he had the best sense of smell. He might have been able to follow Marcie's scent trail though the olfactory chaos of the hallways.

Jesse had the best sense of hearing. He'd mentioned that he could sometimes hear earthworms when he was outside. Hearing a human heartbeat was easy for him, especially since he didn't have one of his own to distract him.

Willow had the best night vision, especially if she shifted to her game face. Not that it was going to help her with this job.

She listened as hard as she could and regularly sniffed the air. It took effort to smell for things since she didn't breathe automatically anymore.

She had to remind herself that they were trying to help this girl. They were just looking for her, not hunting her. Marcie wasn't a threat, even if she was invisible and probably a little crazy by now.

If it did come to a fight, all Willow would have to do was get hold of the other girl and then her grappling training and inhuman strength could take it from there.

The note the masked guy left her had been right about that much. She _really_ enjoyed grappling practice with Xander. She had to hope he hadn't smelled just how much she enjoyed it.

She actually enjoyed all of her martial arts training now, if not in quite the same way.

That hadn't been true at first. She'd felt clumsy and useless. It was Xander who reminded her how clumsy she'd been when she was learning how to touch type. He was right. It was only a matter of practice and patience. She still wasn't typing at a hundred words a minute, so to speak, but Jesse could testify to how much she had improved.

She even enjoyed hunting vampires. She hadn't expected that. Including the Harvest they had gone on three hunts now, and she'd been scared every time. She had expected to feel bad about killing, even if they were monsters, but she didn't. Along with the fear had come excitement, and at the moment of the kill...

Willow worried about that a little. It might be the influence of her demon that made her react that way, but what if it wasn't? Deep down, was she really a killer?

"Wait. She's here," Jesse said as they came to another empty classroom in the darkened school.

Willow stopped and closed her eyes. Concentrating, she could just make out the sound of someone breathing quietly. It was coming from one of the desks in the back of the room. The dim sunlight from the room's single window didn't quite reach it.

They made their way down the row of desks, stopping well short of the invisible girl's position.

Willow heard Marcie's chair squeak slightly as she shifted her weight. Maybe she was getting ready to leave.

Jesse took a step back, silently ceding the floor.

"Um. Hi Marcie,"Willow said. She knew she was facing the right general direction at least, but trying to make eye contact was probably a waste of time. "I, uh, haven't seen you around school lately," she continued, mentally wincing at her poor turn of phrase even as the words left her mouth.

She heard the girl draw a sharp breath. They were only a few feet apart, and Willow could now make out her heart beat. It had been slow but was speeding up.

"We know what happened to you. We don't know how to help you yet, but we'll keep looking," Willow told her, trying to get the most important parts out first.

Marcie still hadn't said anything. Looking at the desk,Willow saw nothing, but the breaths she'd taken while speaking brought her a human scent. It was definitely the same one she'd smelled on the bedding above the music room. Not that she expected another invisible person, but id didn't hurt to be sure.

"We wanted to let you know that you're not alone. We understand what you're going through,"Willow added as soothingly as possible. Hopefully she didn't sound as annoying as Mr. Flutie.

The breaths were coming faster. The heartbeats were coming faster too.

Jesse interjected wryly, "If anyone understands what it's like to have something freaky happen to you and change up your whole life, it's us."

There was an undertone to the girl's scent. Something almost...coppery.

Willow lost her train of thought for a moment but then recovered saying, "Yeah, um. So if you ever want to talk or something, we're here."

Willow swallowed. She was salivating for some reason.

The girl still hadn't said anything.

That undertone in her scent seemed stronger now. It was washing out all the other scents in the room. Willow couldn't smell anything else.

She gazed blankly at the shadowed desk, drawing in steady breaths to take in more of the scent.

The sound of that heart seemed to beat the air like a bird's wings. She could nearly feel it on her tongue.

Willow's world narrowed down to the sound, beating, and that scent. That amazing scent.

She moved to get closer to it and stepped into a weak beam of sunlight. It seemed to spear into her eyes so she blinked them closed and took another step to get clear of it. Whe she opened her eyes the desk was much easier to see. It was as if someone had turned on the lights.

It was with perfect clarity she saw the chair fly backwards and roll across the floor, apparently by itself. Then desks started skidding a few inches, one after another in a line leading towards the door.

Willow tensed her legs to pursue, but was halted by Jesse's hand on her shoulder.

Jesse was staring at her. She felt her head start to clear.

"What just happened?" she asked him.

He shook his head and told her, "E Y F, P D Q, Will."

"Huh?"

"Your, ah, demon is showing," he explained with an attempt at delicacy. He gestured at his face.

Her tongue bumped against oddly sharp teeth. She reached up and then slumped when her hand encountered ridges.

"Well, poop."

* * *

><p>Marcie flattened her back against the bricks as she caught her breath. The outside of the school was still warm from the setting sun and she shivered slightly as she tried to soak it up.<p>

She felt her lips twist with the irony of the situation.

All this time she'd been desperate for someone, anyone to talk to her. To notice her. And when someone finally did...

It had been like a dream when the red headed girl started talking. Marcie had been so shocked she couldn't say anything.

And then the dream turned into a nightmare.

She beat the wall with her fist.

Weren't things bad enough? She already felt a little less real every day when she looked into the mirror and saw nothing. Now there were monsters to deal with too.

Marcie forced herself to calm down. To remember what she'd seen and heard.

She knew the red haired girl. Her name was...Willow. Willow Rosenburg.

And the tall guy was Jesse McNally. He kept hitting on Cordelia. Not that he had a chance with Ms. High and Mighty.

It didn't seem like they could see her either. The way their eyes tracked told her that much.

What were they? And if they couldn't see her, how did they know where she was? And who she was, for that matter?

Willow had been sniffing the air just before she...changed. Maybe they could smell her.

They didn't look hairy enough to be werewolves.

Judging by the fangs and the eyes, Marcie would guess that they were vampires. But they hadn't been hurt by the sunlight, and she'd never heard that vampires had lumpy faces.

That didn't necessarily rule them out. She'd read _Dracula_ last year for English class, and he'd been able to go out in daylight.

Maybe the sunlight problem was just a Hollywood thing. Like the whole turning into a werewolf if you got bitten by one idea. She'd read that in the old stories you had to drink water from a wolf's footprint, or cast a spell while wearing a wolf skin belt to become one.

Marcie shook her head and brought herself back to the subject at hand. She couldn't rely on stories. They could be something she'd never heard of.

Was it just Jesse and Willow, or were there others? What did they really want?

She needed more information.

She felt herself steady as she hardened her resolve.

In a way they had already helped her. Before, she'd been a forgotten girl, slowly going crazy. Without purpose.

Now she was a monster hunter. And they'd never see her coming.

* * *

><p><strong>*Author's Note*<strong>

* * *

><p><em>I had intended to put both meetings in this chapter, not to mention do something about that poor cheerleader who is gonna get her hands set of fire. It didn't work out that way. I apologize for the fact that even with the rather lax schedule I've set, I haven't done as much editing as I should. If any flaws that I've missed jump out at you, please point them out. I'm always trying to improve my writing.<em>

_Next chapter we get to find out how Gile's and Xander's meeting went. Did they get the information they were after or did they get turned into small hopping things?_


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Xander walked through the library doors a step behind Mr. Giles. The first thing he saw was Willow sitting at the central table with her head in her hands, managing to convey with her posture alone an attitude of total dejection.

Mr. Giles slowed his pace as he took in the mood.

_This can't be good._

In a chipper tone Xander asked, "So guys, how'd it go?"

After all, she could be depressed about something else. _Call me Xander, King of de Nile._

Jesse looked up from where he'd been leaning against the wooden railing to hesitantly answer, "It really could have gone better. Willow... kind of...accidentally... flashed her game face at the invisible girl."

Xander slowly sat down next to Willow.

"Oh wow. How did that happen?" he asked as if idly curious. She looked like she was putting enough pressure on herself without him adding to it.

Willow answered him without looking up or even opening her eyes. "Let me put it this way. Things would have gone a lot better if we'd me her a couple of days ago. Or a couple of days from now, either way." She seemed to be curling in on herself even more in embarrassment.

It took Xander a few moments to process that. He could tell by the look on Mr. Giles' face when he got it.

"Ah."

Mr. Giles took off his glasses and began to clean them with his handkerchief.

"So..."Xander started. _Talk about bad timing._ "What happened then?" he asked, trying for that idly curious tone again but probably letting too much of his sympathy for Willow into his voice.

"She ran away," was Willow's unsurprising and entirely mortified explanation. It came out a little muffled since she refused risk looking at anyone.

"Hey," Jesse offered in the tone of someone determined to look on the bright side, "At least she wasn't screaming." His face fell as he observed Willow's failure to be cheered by this.

"She didn't say a word the whole time we were there," Willow told the table.

_The silence wouldn't have helped your focus any._

Mr. Giles returned his glasses to his face and asked diffidently,"Did you follow her?"

Jesse shook his head. "Nah, we figured it would only freak her more if it looked like we were chasing her.

"So, how'd things go on your end?" he asked hopefully. Willow even looked up from the table.

Xander hated to disappoint them but honestly, "We're batting zero. We didn't even get through the front door. I tried but, FYI, it turns out the whole 'can't cross a threshold without an invitation' thing does apply to us. And she was pretty seriously uninviting."

"That sucks," Jesse commiserated. "So you got nothing?"

"Well she wasn't acting right. She started sweating as soon as she answered the door and it wasn't that hot out. She was nervous, maybe even scared." Xander shook his head. "The Mrs. Madison I remember would have stared down her nose at a firing squad."

Willow came out of her funk enough to agree with him on that. She added, "We definitely know that something's gone wrong there then, even if we don't have any solid proof of the body swapping thing. Maybe I'd have better luck with her, since we used to hang out so much."

"Quite right," Mr. Giles agreed firmly. "We shall make our second attempt tomorrow evening. Once we find her books we should be able to reverse all her spells. A-a-although that will still leave us with a rather irate witch to deal with."

Xander closed his eyes for a moment. The librarian's attempt to cheer them up hand been going pretty well until he pointed out that little detail.

Before everyone got too sunk in gloom, something would have to be done. There was too much thinking and brooding being done. They needed to accomplish something.

"Well," Xander growled. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm in the mood to kill something. Anyone else up for a vampire hunt?"

* * *

><p>Rupert wasn't blind to the mood of the teenagers, so he didn't put up any real opposition to the plan.<p>

_It's a good way for them to work out their aggression constructively,_ he reflected. _And if I feed them afterwards it will help condition them, on an unconscious level, to perceive other vampires as prey._

Not that he thought them likely to start feeding on humans, Ms. Rosenberg's little slip aside. He simply saw no need to miss out on any form of positive behavior reinforcement.

Besides, they'd likely hunt better on an empty stomach.

He had to keep reminding himself of their dual nature. If he accepted them as the children they had been and neglected the monsters within them entirely he would be doing them no favors.

He turned his attention to determining the best hunting ground for tonight. He didn't think the children would have the patience for the necessary subtlety involved in hunting at the Bronze without being identified. They were still somewhat lacking in experience after all.

The other obvious choice, one of Sunnydale's seemingly innumerable graveyards, could also prove problematic. Most of them were under the control of the Master and hunting there could draw too many vampires for them to deal with.

As well as rousing the Master's ire against them even further before they were ready.

Hunting in one of the graveyards occupied by the few unaffiliated vampires could drive them to join the Master's group out of self preservation. Still it seemed the best option.

In fact, if they allowed a survivor to escape after advising him to join the Master or die, it might actually strengthen their efforts to turn the vampires against each other.

Rupert was startled out of his thoughtful reverie as the school principal, Mr. "I tell people to call me Bob, but no one ever does" Flutie bustled into the room.

"Ah, Mr. Giles. Your suggestion about emphasizing fire safety awareness turned out to be very well timed. I think we may have dodged potential litigation quite neatly with our rapid response this afternoon. Had you heard?"

Rupert shifted to interpose himself between the blithering little pillock's line of sight and where the boys were hurrying to get their hooded sweatshirts on over their new chest armor.

"A-a-ah, yes, I believe there was some sort of accident at the cheerleading tryouts this afternoon?"

"A young lady's pom-poms caught fire right in the middle of her routine. Terrible for school spirit. I've talked with her parents about filing a joint suit against the manufacturers. I just don't understand how that sort of poor quality control can happen." He broke off with a frown as the noticed the boys.

Right about the same time Ms. Rosenberg came out of Rupert's office, where she'd been changing.

"Why are you still here? It's after hours. Shouldn't you be enjoying dinner with your loving families?" Mr. Flutie asked in a tone that was closer to an order than a question.

"We, ah," the youngsters stammered, at something of a loss at the sudden challenge.

"Yes, Mr. Harris, Mr. McNally, and Ms. Rosenberg are part of a study club that meets here. I believe they were just about to head out for a bit of a run before going home. Strong mind, strong body and all that," Rupert explained heartily.

"Nothing like a turn about the _field_ to put you right for getting your _rest_, what? And a bite to eat wouldn't go amiss afterward," Rupert continued with studied casualness.

"Ah...Sure thing Mr. Giles," Ms. Rosenberg told him with an extra nod to tell him she'd gotten the whole message.

_Clever girl._

"Come on you guys, we've taken up enough of Mr. Giles' time."

They filed out of the library, leaving Rupert to allay Mr. Flutie's suspicions. It's not as if the man was actually stupid, however he might at first appear, and the last thing Rupert needed was a charge of arson or criminal assault on his record.

He'd put that sort of thing behind him.

* * *

><p>Xander could smell that there had been vampires in the area a few days ago. It hadn't rained lately and the Restfield Cemetery didn't get so much foot traffic as to cover the traces. But he couldn't scent anything more recent than that.<p>

_Weird. Where'd they go?_

He glanced a question at Jesse, who impressively enough was able to guess his meaning through the ski masks and hoods they were all wearing. Jesse shook his head, signaling that he didn't hear anything.

That's why, when he walked between the mausoleums, the savage thrust kick came as a complete surprise to Xander.

The sheer force of the blow folded him over sideways even as it launched him twelve feet into the cold stone of the nearest mausoleum. His side impacted the wall a good four feet off the ground a fraction of a second before his head and feet snapped over to slam into it as well.

His body actually clung to the wall for a moment, like one of those sticky hand toys, before collapsing in a heap on the ground. It was with blank minded shock he saw Willow hit the ground like a rag doll at least twenty feet back in the direction they'd come in.

_That's not right. You're supposed to slap the ground when you land,_ he thought muzzily.

When their attacker turned to deal with Jesse, Xander got his first look at the creature's face.

It was Luke, the vampire who had been the Master's Vessel during the Harvest. The attempted Harvest, anyway.

_He looks different_, Xander observed absently.

Luke's teeth were very clearly visible, not just because he was snarling, but also because most of the skin was melted away from the lower half of his face. It looked like holes had been eaten through the front of his throat as well.

Xander was fairly certain he heard Jesse's sternum break when Luke smashed the heel of his hand into Jesse's chest. Of course it could have been Jesse's chest armor that broke instead.

Regardless, the blow slammed him back into the mausoleum across from Xander's so hard that he bounced forward again. Right into position to be flattened by Luke's backhand slap.

Xander's head had cleared enough that he was trying to stand up when he saw the former Vessel pick his friend up by the throat. He was trying to stand, but was hampered by the fact that his legs wouldn't move.

Jesse's hand came up gripping one of the little bottles of holy water Mr. Giles had given them, but Luke stopped it with his free hand. Luke's ravaged throat made a weird bubbling hissing sound before he violently twisted, snapping Jesse's arm. The bottle of holy water fell to the ground.

Jesse screamed, even as his other hand shot out in an underhand strike at the monster's heart with the stake he'd palmed at the same time he'd grabbed the bottle.

Unfortunately the old vampire was not taken by surprise. Rather than attempt any kind of block or counter he simply flung Jesse at the wall of Xander's mausoleum before the attack could connect.

Xander winced at the crack of Jesse's head striking the stone before biting back a scream at the agony that suddenly ripped through his own lower back.

The pain passed as suddenly as it came and Xander felt his mind clear completely in it's wake. He pretended to still be paralyzed as Luke came for Jesse.

Xander noted how focused the old monster seemed to be on the other boy.

_He _really_ wants to show his appreciation for the new look I guess._

When Luke leaned down to grab Jesse, Xander drove a full force kick at his wounded throat, pushing off against the wall for added leverage. With his full superhuman strength behind the blow, it might be enough to take the monster's head off. Even if it didn't, the pain should give him a few moments to get in a finishing blow.

Luke caught the kick bare inches from his neck and used his new grip on Xander's leg to swing him over his head and into the ground on his other side.

Xander managed to slap the ground and absorb some of the impact, but the old vampire didn't stop there. Without giving him so much as a second to collect himself, Luke swung Xander back over his head and into the ground on his left.

Then his right.

Then his left.

Then his right again.

_Who does he think he is? Bamm Bamm?_ Xander wondered with incredulous horror.

Xander's attempts to break his fall had gotten less and less effective, so when Luke paused to change grips on his leg, Xander was in no position to take advantage of the lapse. Taking the leg in both hands like a handle, the old monster put his back into it and hurled Xander away in an extremely modified hammer throw.

For a brief moment, spinning through the air, Xander felt as if he was on an amusement park ride. That moment ended when his back slammed into a gravestone hard enough to break it.

_What? Again? Really?_ Xander protested to himself as he lay in the rubble of the shattered headstone. He stirred weakly and found his legs once more unresponsive.

Turning his eyes back toward the fight as he waited for his spine to heal, Xander saw that Willow was back up. She was charging silently at Luke's back with a stake in each hand, one gripped overhand, one underhand.

She must not have been silent enough, because Luke whirled and caught her hands before she could strike. Xander heard him make that revolting hissing sound again as he drove Willow's underhand stake into her heart.

Into the chest plate over her heart, rather. Even though they couldn't be killed by staking, there was no need to advertise the fact according to Mr. Giles. With Luke's terrible force behind it the stake actually disintegrated into splinters when it hit.

Before Xander had time to be relieved, Luke drove the overhand stake through Willow's jaw and into her brain. She collapsed with boneless finality.

Xander dimly felt himself shift into his game face as he snatched up the largest intact chunk of tombstone and began dragging his body towards the monster with his other hand. He slammed his fingers down like pitons, moving over the ground with greater speed than he could have ran as a human.

Meanwhile Jesse had stood up. One of his long legs snapped out in a thrust kick aimed at the back of Luke's head. The old vampire swayed to the side, just enough to make the kick miss, and caught it with his right hand. He began to swing Jesse over his head as he had Xander, but Jesse bent his knee and used the momentum to launch a kick at Luke's crotch with his other leg.

Luke caught that kick with his left hand and bent at the waist to send Jesse rolling across the ground in a brutal tumbling routine, barely missing Willow.

Xander paid no attention to his friend because he was finally within range. He swung his foot long tombstone hammer at Luke's left knee with all the power he had.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

* * *

><p><em>This fight scene seems a lot more mechanical in retrospect than I intended. Needs more emotional reactions, I think. I'll post one more chapter before I set this story aside for a bit. My recent work on it has been substandard, even for me, and I intend to fix it before I move on.<em>


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Marcie concentrated on not screaming. She'd given up on trying to keep her breathing quiet. If she could just keep from screaming she would count that as a major accomplishment.

She had spotted Willow and Jesse leaving the school after hours with another guy, Xander. She had always kind of liked Xander for the way he managed to hold his own against Cordelia.

She had decided to follow them. She had to know if Xander was a monster too, or if they were taking him out to do something to him, or what.

The way they were all dressed alike in hoodies and gloves was suspicious, but not proof of anything.

Marcie had kept her distance, and did her best to stay downwind of them. They'd already demonstrated that just because they couldn't see her didn't mean they couldn't find her. She had to hope that her precautions were enough.

_Seriously? Playing ninja in a moonlight graveyard?_ she'd thought to herself when the pulled on ski masks before walking through the gate.

_I guess it's hard to find a spooky forest or eerie cave to lurk in around here. They have to work with what's available._

Marcie had hung even further back at that point. They had seemed to be looking for something and she didn't want them to notice her by mistake. The way the three of them moved so quietly between the headstones, coordinating their movements without sound freaked her out. There was something inexpressibly predatory about them.

Without any other proof she became certain that whatever Willow and Jesse were, Xander was too.

She had dropped so far behind that they were just barely in sight when it happened. Xander shot sideways into one of the short stone house things. Mausoleums.

The sound of the impact didn't quite cover the huff of air being driven out of his lungs even at a distance.

There was someone else there and he was fighting them. It was all happening so fast, and she was so far away it was impossible to make out details, but whoever it was seemed to be winning.

Against her better instincts she moved closer.

She couldn't see his face or anything, but it had to be a guy with that build. The mystery man was big, like pro football player big. And he wasn't a normal human either.

Even as big as he was he shouldn't be strong enough to do the things he was doing. He was tossing her monsters around like they were made out of styrofoam. He even picked up one of them by the leg and started wacking him into the ground like an angry toddler with a teddy bear.

_I really hope this guy is on my side._

There was no shouting or cursing, the only sounds were those of bodies colliding with each other and their surroundings. They just attacked each other with relentless, silent ferocity.

But you couldn't really call what was happening a fight. She didn't think her monsters had managed to so much as slap the guy. They were like stunt men attacking the lead in an action movie except for one thing.

They kept getting up.

No matter how hard he hit them, or how far he threw them, they just kept getting back up. She'd thought for sure that he'd finished Xander when he sent him flying into the headstone. She couldn't image anything surviving that when she'd heard the stone shatter and saw his slack face, the mask torn away.

She'd wished she was imagining things when she saw Xander start dragging himself across the ground with one hand, all fangs and yellow eyes, like some kind of hellishly fast crippled zombie.

She didn't notice the rock in his other hand until he swung it into the big guy's leg. That ugly, wet, crunching, popping sound wasn't like anything she'd ever heard before. He knocked Xander flying again, but that was the turning point.

The big guy was stronger, faster, and a much better fighter than her monsters, but he obviously wasn't as durable. As impressive as his power was (and it was seriously awesome) it was ultimately futile.

There was something darkly comedic about he way he kept fighting off their attacks while standing on one leg. He struck with crushing force even in that awkward stance.

The monsters just got up again. But when Willow grabbed his good leg and forced him down, he couldn't follow their lead.

Willow did some complicated looking contortion that locked her whole body around the big guy's right arm, while her legs went across his chest. She pulled his arm against her chest and strained backwards, pitting the strength of her entire body against his single arm.

Even then he might have overpowered her, but he was trying to fend off Xander with his stone hammer at the same time. With another one of those terrible wet pops, she broke his elbow.

The big guy managed to throw them off again and again, but the three of them wore him down, eventually smashing his other arm and leg. It was ugly and brutal.

Marcie concentrated on not screaming. Or throwing up.

When he was finally helpless, the tallest one, Jesse, stabbed him in the chest with something.

The big guy's body dissolved into dust and disappeared with a sigh.

Marcie curled in on herself and shivered.

_How am I supposed to fight these things?_

* * *

><p>Jesse stood over the pile of dust that had been kicking his ass a few moments ago and strongly felt he should be panting for breath. The not needing to breathe thing always weirded him out after heavy exertion.<p>

"Hey, guys? Why are we doing this again?" Willow asked hoarsely.

"Oh you know. Revenge and preventing the end of the world. Plus it's apparently a safer extra curricular than cheerleading," Jesse answered lightly while he gathered up his stakes and checked his vial of holy water.

_It's hard to kill a vamp with this stuff, but you can damn sure mess one up with it_, he reflected.

Willow coughed and spat a bloody something up with a grimace visible through her mask. "Splinter," she explained apologetically.

"But seriously. We're fighting way out of our league. Three on one and this guy wiped the floor with us. If we hadn't gotten lucky he would have killed us," she continued in a normal voice.

"Oh, give him his due, he did kill us. Like, three times each," Jesse acknowledged far more calmly than he'd felt while it was happening. "But you're forgetting the part where we won anyway."

He'd heard that all teenagers think they're immortal.

_How cool is it that when we think that we're _right_?_

"Besides, if we don't do this, who will?" Xander argued. "Whoever Mr. Giles was waiting for didn't show. I don't think we really have a choice. As much as I liked _Mad Max,_ I don't really want to live in a post-apocolyptic world."

"Yeah, you're right," Willow admitted after a long pause. She shook her head,"Sorry for wimping out, guys. I guess we'd better head back."

* * *

><p>"It went bad is how it went. Very, very, very, very bad," Xander answered Mr. Giles while walking over with his friends to slump into a chair at the library's main table.<p>

"Bad on an epic scale," Jesse elaborated.

"You didn't find any vampires?" Mr. Giles asked with a frown.

"Ha!" Willow barked hollowly. "We wish."

"Technically we didn't find any vampires," Jesse corrected. "One found us. You remember that Vessel guy from the Harvest?"

Mr. Giles blinked.

"Ah."

_Impressive how much meaning the old dude can pack into a single syllable that isn't even a word_, Xander noted.

"Yeah, I learned my lesson there. Always, always, ALWAYS finish the kill. Dad told me that when we used to go hunting. You never let something crawl away wounded," Jesse stated.

"Or it'll come back later to beat you to death with your own limbs," Xander agreed. He didn't want to think about what Luke would have done to Jesse if he'd caught him alone.

"I trust that's just a colorful turn of phrase?" Mr. Giles asked worriedly.

"We're okay. I just got a chance to see how often I could get my spine broken in the course of a single fight. My new record is four times," Xander added with a touch of pride mixed with his embarrassment.

_On the one hand I took four crippling injuries in one fight. On the other hand I took four crippling injuries and I'm fine now. We even won._

"If we could be beaten to death, Luke would have definitely done it," Jesse agreed. "Unlucky for him, we're pretty much invincible."

"Hey, unkillable isn't even close to being the same thing as invincible. Remember what happened to that Judge guy the Notebook mentioned? Brrr!" Willow shivered.

_The thought of being hacked up and stuffed into a bunch of different boxes while I'm still alive is majorly creepy,_ Xander admitted to himself. _Even immortality had some downsides but,_ he mentally shrugged, _it beats the alternatives._

"You were so right not to let us carry anything sharp, Mr. Giles," Willow said fervently. "He'd have taken a sword or axe away from us and cut us to pieces. Even if we can survive that, we'd be helpless."

"And headless. And limbless. And..." Jesse broke off as Xander swatted him on the back of the head.

"That's the kind of funny that isn't," Xander told him. _And you're starting to creep me out again._

Mr. Giles turned back into his office and emerged with three large glasses and a gallon jar filled with a dark substance. He set a glass in front of each of the gang.

Xander took a breath through his nose to check the scent.

_Blood._

Not that he'd really thought it'd be Kool-aid. He'd been faintly smelling blood since shortly after they got back to the library.

"You've had a trying day, and an even more trying night. I imagine you need this by now," Mr. Giles told them as he filled the glasses one after the other.

Willow gazed at her glass without enthusiasm.

"Ugh, pig's blood. It's a good thing I wasn't raised orthodox, 'cause this would be giving me some major problems." With a faint grimace of distaste she took a drink.

"It is probably about as far from kosher as you can get," Jesse cheerfully observed before taking a swig.

Xander shrugged. "Tastes pretty good to me. I imagine that's because of the whole vampire thing I've got going." He was still unhappy about how undeath had stolen his sweet tooth. As good as blood tasted now it was as good as chocolate used to be. And twinkies...

_Concentrate on what you've got, not on what you've lost,_ he reminded himself.

"Have you ever wondered why it's pig's blood," Jesse asked suddenly. "Why not cow's blood? Or, I dunno... chicken's?"

Xander shook his head, admitting ignorance.

Willow shrugged.

Mr. Giles offered a little diffidently, "A-ah cannibals on the Marquesa Islands referred to human flesh as 'long pig.'" He cleared his throat. "I take that to mean that it tastes rather like pork. That being the case..."he trailed off suggestively.

"Ick," Willow said, pushing her empty glass away. "I didn't want to know that."

"Makes sense thought," Jesse said, after nodding his agreement with her. "Probably smart to make our people juice substitute taste as much like the real thing as possible. It was the old guy's idea right?"

"Where is Gramps anyway?" Xander asked. They could have really used his help with their plus sized playmate.

"He has...personal matters to attend to. He said he would be back in a few days," Mr. Giles assured them.

_And that's not evasive at all,_ Xander noted dryly.

* * *

><p><strong>*Author's Note*<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Because <span>Old Girl Lost<span> asked for it, here is Chapter 7. Sorry I spaced out about posting it. It's kind of choppy but not completely terrible. _

_Chapter 8 won't get posted till at least a month from now. Maybe sometime in Febuary. Like I mentioned before I really need to overhaul this story, but I'm afraid that's taking a back seat to updating _Who Isn't Crazy?_ and finishing my one-shot answer to Dany le fou_ _"Falling into the Abyss" challenge. And sadly, both those things must take a back seat to work._

_Some reviews for this story might make me reorganize my priorities. _

_Just a thought. _


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